Hear The Ringing Echoes
by Miyu Shinohara
Summary: After the highschool was no longer a safe option, the School Living Club makes way to St. Isidore University, coming across a mysterious DJ and Rii's little sister on their new path. And as they embark on this new adventure investigating the Randall Corporation, these girls will have no idea the trials laying ahead... (Rewrite taking place post-Highschool Arc)
1. Lockers

_"There's no need for goodbyes or funerals, when we have each other's love and memories in our hearts. And as long as we can pass down that love and happiness to the people we care about and to the next generations, I think we can live forever, in a weird way. Love is the most important thing though. If we pass on love... I know the world is going to become a better place, no matter how hard it is today. So... pass on love and hope, not hate."_

_\- Shidou Kei's final words and will._

_**Hear  
The  
Ringing  
Echoes**_

* * *

_"Just because something isn't a lie does not mean that it isn't deceptive. A liar knows that he is a liar, but one who speaks mere portions of truth in order to deceive is a craftsman of destruction."_

_\- Criss Jami_

_Prologue Arc_

"_**Divergence"**_

* * *

_Chapter 1: _

_**Lockers**_

_For this period between graduation and matriculation, we're not considered students. We don't belong anywhere. We aren't attached to anything. For some reason, that makes my steps feel lighter… anyway! We're going on a field trip together! There's no way it wouldn't be fun!_

Despite the fall of Megurigaoka Private High School, perhaps due to an inability to fully comprehend what had occurred, Yuki had remained in high hopes and spirits.

The graduated School Living Club had for the first time in over half a year had an active goal to work towards. The "Randall Corporation" and "St. Isidore University." The ones who created the serum, and a fleeting chance at meeting other survivors.

The truth was, there was no master plan in set for the School Living Club. Reach the University, hope people were there, and try to learn more about the outside world. At the very least, investigate buildings made by the mysterious corporation. And if it was a dead end? Venture onward and onward. After all; they were graduates now, adults. Adults who had to find their own path in the world, even if none were being presented to them.

Well, until now there hadn't been a clear path.

_Good morning, it's another wonderful day! Well, not that I would know, I can't see outside from here. This is Station 111! Thanks for tuning in again today! Hey, listeners… if you're tuning in, why not try paying me a visit? There'll be tea and sweets for those who visit!_

The girls had made the decision to detour from the plan to head to the University in favor of possibly meeting another survivor sooner! It was a no-brainer for the School Living Club.

"Look! We left footprints!"

"Senpai, what are you doing!? Help us out, will you!"

"S-sorry-!"

Yuki's behavior might have been difficult to cooperate with at times, but none could deny their love for the pink-haired girl and the hope she brought. It hadn't taken them long to find the broadcasting station; and it was built like a fortress! Kurumi figured a bomb could drop on it and it'd probably be just fine. She briefly considered calling for Rii to help open the heavy bomb hatch, but the three were barely able to pry it open.

"Isn't this… a bit much for a broadcasting station?" Miki asked, looking at her seniors.

"Tell me about it, jeez!" Kurumi complained, wiping sweat off her brow. Ever since learning about the school, the vaccines, and now St. Isidore Kurumi was beginning to realize that Megurigaoka City was… unusual, unnatural. And this location added onto it. Like the entire city was _made _for this disaster. But she pushed the thoughts aside, clenching her shovel.

"You're being too tense, Kurumi-chan!" Yuki said with a little grin as they climbed down. "She's gonna be a nice person, I'm sure of it!"

"Y… yeah," Kurumi said, forcing a smile. They didn't know anyone out here. She seemed friendly on the radio, but…

She looked over at Miki, who nodded. They had no idea what people outside the school were like. So, she stayed on guard. While unarmed, Miki was ready to fight if need be. "I'm opening the door," Miki announced, the other two girls following in after.

The interior was a small and simple recording studio, a shelf filled with CDs and a poster for decoration. Miki walked over and saw a coffee mug, still hot. "Kurumi, Yuki…"

_Where is she? _Kurumi thought, noticing a door. _Is she using the restroom or something? Should we stick around and wait? If we surprise her, it could be a prob__—_

"Heeeeeeeey! Miss DJ! Where are you!?" Yuki yelled, causing Kurumi and Miki to jump.

"Y-Yuki-senpai, you scared us-!" Miki complained, giving a little pout as Yuki rubbed the back of her head nervously.

"S-sorry… I just really want to meet her; you know?"

"Well, we don't want to _scare_ her!" Kurumi replied. "We should—"

"Didn't anyone ever teach you to knock first?"

The door to their side opened, and there smiling was a young woman in her 20s, seven earrings in each ear.

"Let me guess. You came for tea and sweets, right?"

The three girls couldn't hide their excitement with the grins on their faces.

* * *

"_Its soooooooooooooooooo good! Red bean paste mochi!"_ Kurumi and Yuki had said in unison, savoring ever moment of the treat.

It was the first time in months the girls could have such luxuries, and they were all enjoying themselves. Once Rii was inside the radio station, the DJ had prepared some green tea for the group, and as promised had also provided them with sweets: store-bought (or likely stolen) mochi still unopened! The girls had wanted to mind their manners, but even Rii was getting into it and succumbed to gluttony.

"Been a while since you had something so good, huh?" The DJ asked with a little laugh, watching Yuki put two into her mouth at once.

"Yuki-chan, please watch your manners! You too, Kurumi!" Rii scolded, plopping another into her mouth, her fifth.

"Hey, we deserve to pig out, alright?" Kurumi said, eating her sixth piece of mochi. "I never thought I'd be able to eat mochi again!"

"Eat up! That stuff was going to start going bad soon anyways… it's the last of it though, so savor it. Whatever we don't eat, it gets thrown out!" The DJ said, eating a piece of mochi herself. "Man, its been a while since someone actually stopped by! I thought everyone had either found their own groups or moved on by now…" The DJ looked them up. "You're all pretty clean… where you from? I try to keep tabs on most of the groups in the city…"

"We just graduated!" Yuki said happily, taking a sip of her tea. The DJ frowned for a moment, tilting her head.

"Graduated…?"

"We're from Megurigaoka Private High School," Rii explained setting down her tea as her own expression grew serious, as did Kurumi's and Miki's. "We… just left a few days ago. We've been living there the past few months. It was mostly self-sufficient…"

"Ah, so you're lockers, I see," the DJ said, much to the girls' confusion. _Lockers? _"Well, welcome to the outside. It sucks," the DJ said with a little chuckle, taking another sip of her tea. "Something go wrong?"

"We graduated, so we're on our way to university! St. Isidore!" Yuki explained as chipper as ever.

"St. Isidore University…"

"You know about it?" Kurumi asked.

"Me and my brother went there," the DJ said, frowning for a moment before sighing. The girls wanted to say something, but she pressed on. "Listen, that place… it's a waste of time. Hear me out on this, there's a way better place to go."

"What do you mean?" Miki asked, not quite liking where this was starting to go.

"The University has two groups in it. One is hostile to most outsiders, the other is filled with pansies," she said, before grinning. "Listen, I'm going to be honest with you. I'm actually out here on a mission."

"A mission?" Rii asked. "For… the government…?"

"The government, the old world, is dead," the DJ said bluntly. It sent a shiver down the spine of the girls, hearing it from someone outside. "Don't waste your time hung up on what used to be. I've been running this radio station for the past two months as part of an assignment. I'm part of a group that rules over Megurigaoka Adult Correctional Facility… you know, Megurigaoka Prison."

"I-Isn't that place going to be full of criminals though!?" Yuki asked nervously, the other girls looking at the DJ for more.

"We took it over. Its secure… 300 people and going strong. Now, you want a new home? _That's_ where you wanna head!" the DJ said with a grin. "I've been running this radio station to get people here to encourage them to go there… not to toot my own horn, but I've sent nearly sixteen other people there!"

"So… you were using the radio to lure us?" Kurumi said, narrowing her eyes just a little as she took another sip of tea.

"Hey now, don't make me sound like a bad guy here. I gave you tea and mochi, didn't I? It's not like I lied or anything," the DJ said. "I'm just doing my job for my people. And I'm offering you all a safe place to live."

"Are there any catches?" Miki asked.

"I won't pretend it'll be easy, especially for lockers," there was that word again. "You'll be starting off at the bottom of the food chain… menial physical labor, gardening, cleaning, the boring stuff. But you'll have your chance to work your way up. That's pretty standard, isn't it?" The girls didn't say anything in response, and she sighed. "Listen… my assignment is almost up. I was gonna be heading back in a week. Why don't you all come with me? My RV has more than enough gas to get us there."

"You're asking a lot from us," Rii said. "You're asking us to follow you when we've just met you. Not to mention, you _lured _us here…"

"Jesus, you're making me sound like a real asshole, you know that?" the DJ said with another sigh. "Listen, I'm not forcing you to do anything. You're free to do what you want. You wanna go to St. Isidore, go to St. Isidore. But I need to tell my fellows at the prison to expect you if you're gonna come so they don't think you're invaders," she said, finishing her green tea. "… Also, you eat all my mochi. So, there's that."

"Oh, screw you lady," Kurumi said, standing up. "Come on, let's go—"

"Wait," Rii said before Kurumi could walk off. "If we think about it… can we stay here until then?"

"Rii!? You can't be—"

"Can we stay, or no?"

The DJ tapped her foot. "Sure. I'll be here another week. But when the time comes, I'm leaving no matter what, and like hell I'm letting you stay here. I'm locking it up until some others from the prison come to manage it. Its too valuable to just let people stay in, sorry."

"B… but we need to go to the University to study!" Yuki finally spoke up.

"I'm sorry, study?" the DJ asked.

"Yeah! We just graduated… so we need to go to St. Isidore, study and get our diplomas!" Yuki said with a smile. "And get real jobs!"

"… A… are you joking?" the DJ asked.

"No… of course I'm not! We just graduated!" Yuki went on. "So we gotta… umm… uhhh…" She crossed her legs. "Y-you know…"

"… Do you have to use the bathroom?" the DJ asked, and with a very embarrassed smile Yuki nodded. "Down the corridor. Last room on the left," she said, as Yuki nodded and headed off, before turning to the rest. "Alright. What's her problem?"

"It's a long story," Miki began. "One that's not really polite to talk about when she can come back any minute."

"Well, I got time," the DJ said. "This is serious. The world isn't nice and secure; what'll happen if you meet people dangerous? That kind of delusion can get her -or any of you- killed. Maybe it worked when you were all being lockers, but that can't fly out here."

"Ok, there's that word again- why do you keep calling us 'lockers?'" Kurumi asked. "It sounds like an insult."

The DJ smirked. "Listen up kiddos; 'cuz this part is _super_ important. There's two kind of survivors as far as everyone is concerned… the first is the majority of us; _scavengers._ People who weren't able to hold themselves up in a secure location with food and water for extended period of time… and those who could; _lockers._ You know, because you seal things in lockers to keep them safe, right? Locking yourself up to keep yourself safe while the rest of the world fell apart…"

None of the girls liked that.

"Don't act like it was easy for us!" Kurumi snapped. "We did patrols. We killed zombies. Conservation of food and water and power… that's…!" Miki tried to put a hand on her shoulder to calm her down, but she took a step forward. "Who the hell are you people to judge us!? Judge Yuki!? This wasn't camping, you know!" She said, gripping the DJ by the shoulder, who just smirked and rose her hands.

"Whoah, listen, don't take me wrong; I'm not here judging you or saying you had it easy," the DJ said. "I'm just stating facts. At the very least, you can say you always had a shelter, and at least some food and water, right? Lots of us didn't have that luxury. I'm not saying you didn't struggle or suffer… but look at this from my, from _our _perspective. I'm not trying to undersell you, and I'm glad we're having this talk now; its worth warning you," she said. "People… don't tend to like lockers. For some its jealousy, for others they see an easy target, or both. You need to keep it to yourself," the DJ warned. "From now on… you held up in this high school for two or three weeks. Then you headed out into the brave new world; you're fighters and survivors, not lockers, understand that?"

"… I think I'd rather take pride in being a locker," Miki spoke up.

"Oh?"

"Yeah," Miki said, her fists balled. "My… my group got wiped out before I joined the School Living Club," Kurumi and Rii went deathly quiet; they still didn't know what had happened before finding her in the mall. "We worked hard. We survived, despite being 'lockers.' We fought, and we died. Hiding it like some dirty secret; it feels like I'm throwing their memories under the bus. I don't like it," Miki said, looking the DJ in the eye.

"I'm with her," Kurumi said, putting a hand on Miki's shoulders. "Call us whatever you want, we're not gonna lie about ourselves just to be more accepted!"

"Yuki… also would hate it," Rii said. "And so do I. We're not going to lie about our own experiences just so others will respect us more. We're not cowards."

The DJ chuckled. "Its your own decisions... We'll see how you feel in a few months, living out here… but honestly? That's guts. And I do like that. So would my fellows," she admitted. "Its your lives. That's the thing about this new world… we're free to live and die as we choose now," she went on. "You're your own masters now. But so is everyone else. And many... are not kind masters. So think on it, alright? But you know, I think we're getting off track; what's wrong with your friend?"

The girls looked at eachother, but Kurumi was the one to speak up. "She's coping in her own way. That's what matters. It gives her the strength to move onwards."

"And let me guess, it filles _you_ up with strength, having someone like that, hmm? She keeps your spirits up, you all do the hard work..." Miki narrowed her eyes at the déjà vu of this conversation. And a sense of shame as well, having suggested the same thing not too long ago... "Well, we have a shrink at the prison. Maybe—"

"Stop talking about her like she's a burden or something!"

Miki actually stood up as she practically yelled it out.

"Miki-san..." Rii began, but didn't press on.

"I... I thought the same way at first but... she's strong in her own way! And yeah, it makes us happy and it gives us strength too. But that's not why we accept it! It's her mental health... and not ours! I-I'm new here, so I don't know her as much as Kurumi-senpai and Rii-senpai, but I know that to be able to face this with a smile; it's a strength! Even with her hallucinations... she'll pull through for us, I know it. It's not your decision to make!"

"I second that," Rii said. "It's not that... it's not that I don't think Yuki doesn't needs psychiatric help... I don't think any of us are denying that," Kurumi and Miki didn't respond to that. "But... you're talking about her like a burden. Like a broken tool that needs to be _fixed._ Not a human being that needs help being _healed. _Like she'll be a burden on us if we don't. That's unacceptable."

"What they said," Kurumi said. "If you're gonna keep talking about her like this, I'm out. I think I speak for all of us," she said, and the other two nodded.

The DJ sighed. "Alright, alright, I'm sorry. I won't press this issue anymore. I don't... I don't understand how you feel this way, I really don't, but she's your friend and not mine, and you're the ones that's been living with her since the world became hell. I'll trust your words... but if my safety is threatened out there in any way because of her, I'm leaving you girls. That's understandable, isn't it?" The room fell into an uneasy silence before they heard the pitter patter of feet once more.

"I'm baaaaaaack!" Yuki yelled, rushing over to rejoin the group.

"Welcome back, Yuki-senpai," Miki said with a smile, the smile Yuki gave warming the hearts of the School Living Club.

"... You know, I should introduce myself. Call me Yui," the DJ, or rather Yui said.

"Takeya Yuki!" Yuki said, even giving a salute to the woman.

"Ebusizawa Kurumi," Kurumi said, her smile fading a bit as her eyes narrowed, still not sure if this woman could be trusted.

"Naoki Miki," she seemed to be much in the same boat.

"Wakasa Yuuri... my friends call me Rii though," she was the only one other than Yuki still smiling at that point, although it was wary.

"Well... it's still early. And I got a lot of tunes here. What's say we kill the time with some music?"

Yuki cheered, but the tension in the air was uneasy still.

* * *

And with that, nearly four days had passed since they had begun staying with Yui.

The tension, if still lingering, had been more bearable. If nothing else. Yui had eased off on the prison, the Living Club's status as "lockers," and Yuki's mental state, and things were beginning to calm down. Although the rocky first encounter never quite left their head, they were a tad bit more sympathetic upon learning more of Yui.

They learned she was a student of St. Isidore University with her brother, but had been away when the Outbreak began. She hadn't returned there, devoted to her duties with this other group. Apparently, a group of high school girls had formed a large group, of which Yui's was absorbed into; starving and on the verge of death Yui and her fellows at the time happily accepted this new rule, and in particular had been there for the "conquest of the prison." It was clear why she was so devoted to seeing it grow, even if their initial encounter was still putting off the girls.

The School Living Club in bits and pieces were learning more about the world outside Megurigaoka. Some groups were peaceful and just tried to make it by in mundane ways, like they had, only scavenging food and supplies that hadn't already been claimed. Others were... more violent.

"_There are raiders, violent guys," _Yui had told them. _"This is what I mean about hiding the fact you're former lockers... there are people who will think they can push you around because of that! At best they'll disrespect you... at worst they'll murder you and steal everything you have. This is an era ruled by strength. Even the most innocent looking people can be dangerous, like those brats from hell..."_

"_Brats from hell?" _Miki had questioned. Yui had opened her mouth but closed it, physically disturbed by a memory. Whoever these 'brats from hell,' was, it was enough to make even the cool and collected Yui seem afraid.

"_Ah... it doesn't matter. We'll be avoiding them. That's all there is to it. Just... don't trust anyone, no matter how sweet they look!"_

"Honestly, I'm pretty happy to be out of there, even if it's just for a day. It's like a chicken coop in there..."

Kurumi and Rii had decided to venture out into the city a bit more. While Yui had said there was enough food and supplies to get them back to the prison (assuming they made that decision), they had insisted more in case of an emergency was a good idea, and Yui did not object. More than anything, Kurumi and Rii had wanted an opportunity to speak without the older woman around.

"I actually feel bad for her; at least in the school we could move around into classrooms and the roof... She said she hadn't even gone outside in nearly a month," Rii said with a frown. "And honestly? After a while, the school felt cramped too..."

"I think I'd lose it in there if I had to stay in for too long," Kurumi said, sighing as she stopped the car. "This mission of her's, I couldn't do it."

"You seem to be more positive of her, you know?" Rii said, giving a little smile.

"Just a little... I mean, she _is _telling us really useful stuff we need to know, and she's not making us go to the prison against our will," Kurumi said.

"Bad first impressions?"

"No, it's more than that. I don't like that guilt tripping and aggressive BS she had when we met her. But... it's weird. I don't really like her; but maybe I'm... I want to say more sympathetic; you know? Like I get _why _she was like that and all. I don't think I'm forgiving it, I just get it," Kurumi said. "And you?"

"I'm still upset about how she talked about Yuki, but I feel the same..." And they walked on the streets. The undead were not present, but Kurumi still held her shovel, and Yui had given Rii a bat.

"Now that we're away... we should talk about the next move to make," Rii said. "St. Isidore University... or Megurigaoka Adult Correctional Facility."

"Yuki really wants to go to the University. I do too," Kurumi said. "Remember what Yui said... in this world, we're our own masters. But if we go to the prison..."

"We'll be sacrificing our autonomy," Rii replied. "We'll start at the bottom of the food chain and have to work our ways up. We won't have control of our own destinies anymore. And you know... Yui said they _conquered_ territory. We can't pretend we're not biting off more than we can chew by joining them..."

"But the University isn't a guarantee either. And apparently some survivors there are hostile to outsiders... and this is assuming they're still alive," Kurumi said. "We could get there and everyone could be dead, or they could try murdering or chasing us off... There's not a lot of gas left in Megunee's car left, and Yui said she'd only spare us two gallons of her spare gas... if the university is a dead end..."

"It's serious danger," Rii contemplated. "I don't think we have enough gasoline to make it there and then go to the prison if we lose it. We'll have to try heading on foot, and that's incredibly dangerous. We only have three more days to make up our decision, too..."

"Yuki is going to want to go to the University no matter what, but it's starting to sound like a bad idea, huh? I'm sure we can convince her some way, but... that's the other thing..."

"The therapist they have, right?"

"Yeah," Rii said. "Yuki... Yuki can't live like this forever, can she?" Kurumi said nothing in response. "I remember when Miki accused us of being mutually co-dependent on each other, and how mad we got. But if we actively deny her mental help..."

"... Its everything Miki said and then some," Kurumi said. "Or... well, maybe not that, but... she needs real help. If she gets denied that just because we wanted to take a shot at the University, what the hell does that say about us? 'Hey, we could have tried getting you a therapist, but we thought this was a better idea?' I feel gross just saying it."

"We all _want _to head to St. Isidore, that much we can all agree on. The question is if that's practical with this other option on the table, and at least to me, it isn't anymore," Rii said. "And you?"

"I… It isn't," Kurumi admitted, sighing. "The more I think about it, the dumber heading to St. Isidore is sounding… it just doesn't make sense now."

"Not that what we're doing is making any sense either…"

"Rii… you sure you wanna do this?" Kurumi asked.

"I don't," Rii said bluntly, still walking slightly ahead. "But even if it's only to confirm my worst fears… I want to be able to sleep without thinking of it."

Two nights ago, they had a rather… unpleasant conversation with Yui as they discussed their adventure up until then.

"_Nobody in your house, huh?" _Yui had asked, Kurumi looking forlorn.

"_I just… I was hoping… I don't know. My mom was a stay-at-home mom… part of me deep inside just… fuck. I wanted to think she'd be there; you know? Cooking or cleaning like always…"_

"_Accept that she, and everyone you once loved is dead."_

Yui's words hit the School Living Club like a sack of bricks. Miki had tried to get Yuki to leave, but she refused to budge.

"_I've noticed this in lockers… you always hope that the people you loved are out there somewhere. That they could hide somewhere like you did. Don't ever believe in hope like that; it leads to despair," _Yui had told them. _"Live under the impression everyone you have ever loved or cared about is dead. More than that, that they died painfully and violently__—"_

"_Shut up,"_ Kurumi began.

"_Afraid—"_

"_I said shut up!"_

"_And above all, completely alone!"_

"_**I said shut up, dammit!"**_

But when Kurumi gripped the older woman once more, she was pulled into a hug.

"_Assume the people you once loved died horribly and violently… and grieve for them now. If you meet them again by pure chance… then that is a miracle. But for now? Grieve like you heard your loved ones were murdered by a serial killer in their homes, alone, before all this. Cry, scream, it's OK. The undead can't get in here. So, you girls… you can let it all out, ok? Do it tonight. Cry until you can't cry anymore. And then? We start working and living again."_

The night that followed was, for lack of a better word, emotional. Unable to sleep after Yui's words, at 2 AM Kurumi made her way to the roof of the studio, sighing. She knew that the chance of her parents being alive had been next to nothing, but now she was being forced to confront the reality.

Was she sad? Was she angry? Kurumi spent nearly all-night crying until, like Yui said, until she couldn't cry anymore. And now? She felt like she couldn't feel anything at all. No sorrow, no anger, just numbness.

She hated that the night was so clear and beautiful tonight. In the movies, wasn't there always rain and bad weather when you learned this kind of news? It actually pissed her off a bit; this perfectly gorgeous cloudless night sky and the beautiful full moon shining down on her. _Rain, dammit. I want you to cry for my mom and dad,_ she thought bitterly, before noticing she wasn't alone on the roof.

"… _Yuuri?"_

"_Kurumi?"_ Rii asked, looking over, her red and puffy eyes looking into Kurumi's equally tired eyes. _"You… ah, you were taking Yui-san's advice too?"_

"… _Come on, its rude asking questions you know the answer to."_

"_Sorry, sorry…" _Rii had said, sighing as she looked up at the moon. _"I guess… Its just hitting me. We're probably never going to see anyone from before again, probably…?"_

"_Yeah," _Kurumi said, not quite sure what else to say. _"You missing your mom and dad?"_

"_Not really,"_ Rii admitted, to Kurumi's surprise. _"I didn't like them, to be honest. I haven't missed them for a single day since this all began,"_ Kurumi was alarmed by that, but didn't know how else to proceed. _"I did lose someone I loved, though…"_

"_Kurumi-chan? Rii-chan?"_

Rii and Kurumi were surprised to see Yuki before them, her eyes also red and puffy. But despite that, she still smiled.

"_You got really sad, too, huh? 'Cuz we were telling sad stories…"_

"… _Yeah,"_ Rii said, smiling, as Kurumi did as well.

"_Really sad stories," _Kurumi said. _"We should stick to scary stories next time."_

"_Why don't we take a little walk?" _Rii asked. _"Just outside the station… We can just walk in a circle around here, clear our heads."_

"_That used to help me,"_ Rii and Kurumi were caught off-guard. _"It… I used to really like night time before it became scary to me, before we started living at school! The cool air and night sky used to be so nice and relaxing… It calmed my anxiety."_

Rii and Kurumi had noticed that since the helicopter crash, something was changing in Yuki. She still acted the way she usually did, but… something felt…

…

Something seemed to be changing inside Yuki.

It made them happy.

And so, the original three members of the School Living Club trailed around the studio aimlessly, walking in a circle against the bunker.

"_Yuki-chan… what do you think about going to the prison instead of the university?" _Rii had asked.

"_Eh!? I-Isn't that a bad idea!? All the dangerous people in there… not to mention, we gotta get our degrees to get real jobs!"_

"_Yeah but… that's one of the reasons we gotta consider it! Even though it'll delay getting our diplomas a bit, if we go to the prison as interns, we can get some really good work experience," _Kurumi said. _"And… if we like it enough, maybe we don't need degrees. We can just work at that place full time!"_

"_I don't… uuu… I don't like that idea much…" _Yuki said with a frown, before smiling again. _"But… I promise I'll think about it, OK? I still want to get a diploma though!"_

The three laughed a bit and kept walking. It had been a while since it had just been the three of them, the original members of the School Living Club.

But eventually, Rii sat down, as a sob escaped her lips.

"_Rii-chan…?"_ Yuki asked, stopping.

"_You alright, Yuuri?"_ Kurumi asked.

"_I'm at my limit. Being around you, Yuki. I don't know how much more I can do this."_

She was crying again. The girls rushed over, despite their confusion (and Yuki's pain at her words).

"_Whoah! It's OK, Rii!"_ Kurumi tried to assure, a hand on her shoulder. _"Why don't we head back to the rooftop?"_

"_R-Rii-chan…"_

"_I had… I had… A-A sister…"_

"_I… I always had a feeling you were a big sister…"_ Yuki said, trying to keep the spirits high, but realizing she couldn't. _"Yuuri…"_

"_Her name was Ryuko, we all called her Ruu though. I never mentioned her even once… She was so easily excitable, I always had to keep a close eye on her. Once her hat blew away, a-and I had to chase her down the street while she chased after it…" _The tears that had stopped were returning. _"I've been so blessed… I-I had the two of you and Megumi-sensei when this all began… b-but… my sister… my sister…!"_

"_Rii…"_ Kurumi put a hand on her shoulder. _"I…"_

"_All alone and afraid… is that how she died, too? Like Yui said!? Painful, afraid, and alone…!? D… did she cry for me? She never cried for mom and dad! Whenever she needed help she always called for me to help her, and when she needed me the most-! I'm terrible… don't you understand that!?"_ The tears flowed freely, in-between sobs. _"She had to face this alone… while I… while I… while I was focused so much on my own survival the thought of leaving to protect my own sister didn't even cross my mind; I pushed her out of my head! What kind of fucked up person does that!?"_

"_R-relax, Rii!"_ Kurumi said, pulling the girl into a hug. _"You… you were just trying to survive too! You can't- you can't blame yourself for this! Its… it's not your fault!"_

"_Yes, it is! I should have gone out and looked for her to protect her! I was barely able to hold it in the school; do you have any idea how many times I thought about killing myself there?"_ Kurumi was dead-silent now. _"Only because of you two… I wouldn't have even found the will to live… and here I am, thinking I could have protected Ruu? God, I'm a joke… I'm supposed to be the big sister, but I only protected and helped myself. I'm so selfish…"_ She looked up at Yuki. _"You remind me so much of her, I think. I used you as a substitute. For my little sister I failed to protect, I used you. I'm sorry, Yuki. I'm so, so, so sorry!" _She buried her face in her hands. _"Maybe… maybe Miki was right all along… The three of us, that we__—"_

Then it was Yuki's turn to hug her, not allowing her to finish.

"_I don't think Rii is selfish at all, for wanting to live."_

"_Yuki…"_

"_I used to not want to be alive either… And I thought I was cowardly and weak… I had to take medicine every day, and sometimes it wasn't enough, you know?"_

"_Yuki…" _Kurumi began, eyes wide. _"Have you… are you…?"_

"_Good things can happen if we're alive," _Yuki said. _"Whether we're going to college together or working… I think I understand the world better now. That's why, I'm never going to wish I'm dead ever again," _Yuki had declared to her two friends. _"I'm sure she understands… even if you never see her again, it sounds like she loved you a lot, Rii-chan," _she said, tightening her hug. _"So please… keep being the Rii-chan we love, that she loved, that we're all so proud of!"_

"_Love… you all… love me?"_

"_Of course we love you, dummy," _Kurumi had said, a tear escaping her left eye as she pulled her into a tight embrace along with Yuki, smiling. _"We're club mates. We look out for each other."_

"_Thank you both… t-thank you… my best friends…"_ Rii said between sniffles, before smiling at last, looking at the full moon. _"Ruu… I'm so sorry… I couldn't protect you, but please, if you're looking down listening to this; please forgive me while I keep living on."_

"_I think I can hear her saying… 'you're the bestest sister ever, so you need to keep living for us both!'" _Yuki said, which finally made Rii laugh; the situation seemed to be diffusing.

A grunt had gotten their attention though.

"_Girls, stay back," _Kurumi said, taking control of the situation as she rose her shovel, noticing a… small figure approaching. _"Oh, damn…"_

The zombie… was a young child, clearly. With a sign around his neck.

_**We're in Namekawa Grade School!  
Please help us.  
We have food and water!**_

"_God… This way you can call for help, even if you…" _Kurumi gulped. Was this child sent before he was infected, or…?

Yuki was standing in front of Rii, arms outstretched, but Rii looked with eyes wide as dinner plates, reading the sign. _"Impossible…"_

The undead child, but was no match for Kurumi. A simple swipe to the legs, followed by a blow to the nape of the neck, and it had ended as quickly as it began.

"_Rii-chan, wait!"_

But Rii ignored Yuki's cry, rushing over to the child and looking at the sign. _"Ah… ahhh…! K-Kurumi… Yuki… this is…! Oh my God!"_

_Her sister!?_ Kurumi had thought in a panic. If it was, she was incredibly concerned for her mental well being in that moment. But she looked down, and it was clearly a boy. But it was the sign she was so intently fo… cused… on…

_Oh my God._

"_R-Rii… is this…" _Kurumi took a step towards her.

"_This is her school…! Kurumi! Yuki! This is her school! Namekawa Grade School! A-and this is a kid her age, I… I remember she sometimes played with him in the playground… Namekawa Grade School, at least some children survived at Namekawa Grade School!"_

Both Yuki and Kurumi were very concerned by the 180 in her personality, her sorrow replaced by incredible optimism; dangerous optimism.

"_My sister might still be alive!"_

"Rii… We can't expect to… you know she's probably…"

"I know. I know she's probably dead," Rii said with a sigh. "But… I need to see. If she's not there… I'll assume she's dead unless we bump into her. But I just need to try it, you know? Just… lay my thoughts to rest."

"This is risky, not telling Yui," Kurumi said. "If something happens to us, only Yuki and Miki know where to look for us. Yui might not let them take her weapons though."

"She doesn't need to know about this," Rii said. "Not to mention, we don't completely trust her, do we?" She asked, facing Kurumi.

"Damn right," Kurumi said. This was the business of the School Living Club; they were sure they would go to the prison instead of St. Isidore at this point, so as far as they were concerned, Yui should be happy at the prospect of maybe another member. And as they began to draw closer, signs were erected; and both Kurumi and Rii felt something go cold in their hearts.

_**TURN BACK! THE SCHOOL IS FUCKING DANGEROUS!**_

_**IF THERE'S NO ADULT WITH THEM DON'T TRUST KIDS**_

"H… Holy fuck, Rii…" Kurumi said, looking over at Rii,, who had her mouth covered in horror. "Rii… t… what the fuck. T-these are kids, right? Namekawa is a grade school, right?"

"M… maybe… raiders took it over?" Rii asked, gulping. "If so, my sister… s-she could be in danger, like a slave or something…!"

"Rii… these signs are talking about _kids, _how the hell can someone want _kids_ dead?" Kurumi asked. "Rii, are you _sure_ you want to do this? I think we should get Yuki and Miki."

"There's no _time_ for that! She can be in danger! Something is going on in Namekawa; I need to make sure she's safe!" Rii was starting to pick up her pace.

"Wait! Rii! Dammit!" Kurumi couldn't do much except follow after her, now severely regretting

And so they approached the school, and the sight… was unlike what they could have imagined.

There were spikes adoring the exterior of the school, pointing outwards. Pieces of zombies adorned them; a clear warning sign for all to stay away. Above the entry to the school there laid two signs; one in broken English, one in Japanese, both clear warnings to the girls.

_**ABANDONED ALL THE HOPE YOU WHO ARE ENTERING THIS PLACE**_

_**NO ADULTS ALLOWED**_

"Rii… dammit, if you're gonna do this, let me scout first, OK?" Kurumi said, as she headed in a bit more._ Rii, if this kills me, I'm gonna haunt you._

"I... be careful… but please, keep an eye out…"

"I got it, Rii," she said, nodding as she headed inside. The school was a mess with things turned over everywhere, and stuff knocked over. But she noticed it wasn't as dusty as she thought it would be; people had been in here recently, living here recently, but it had been abandoned. But what if they were still here?

Kurumi's eyes widened as she noticed a part of the floor seemed different. Covered by a few blankets. Poking it with her shovel it quickly fell in, and Kurumi could see sharpened pikes at the bottom. _This place is booby trapped!_

She gulped, slowly heading further in, keeping a close eye on the ground and what was around her. She looked into one room and saw it; several bottles of water and even canned food sitting on a desk in plain sight… and looking below she saw another blanket trap. Venturing onwards she narrowed her eyes, noticing what looked like wires suspended. She gently pushed on one, wincing as her finger bled. It was high enough that most adults would have been skewered, but most kids could easily walk under it. Using her shovel, she was able to destroy it; and from the ceilings fell what was best described as several sharpened sticks held together by rope. Not a lethal blow, but still…

"Hey! Is anyone here!" Kurumi yelled out "I… I'm trying to find someone! Wakasa Ryuko! R-Ruu! I'm looking for you, alright!? I don't mean any harm!"

She heard the pitter patter of feet somewhere around her, but couldn't pin down the location. "S-seriously! I'm just looking for Ruu! So if you're out… please come out and talk, I mean no harm, honestly!"

Kurumi looked above her, and then to her side. A door previously closed opened, and Kurumi slowly headed over. A tile was missing from the ceiling above, but she saw nothing. The room didn't appear to be booby-trapped, but she couldn't see anyone inside the classroom. "Hello…?"

If the living dead exist, did ghosts did too? Now _that _was fucking scary to the girl. "Is anyone here…?" Kurumi then realized she made a mistake, not checking by her feet. And as she did she noticed that another ceiling tile was missing, and there was a string of rope going from the ceiling to the door. "… Dammit…!"

She heard a large thud from the hallway.

When she looked back, something was sprinting towards her. "Whoah, wait a minute-!"

Kurumi barely had chance to react. A child was rushing at her, holding something. The child swung and Kurumi was forced to block it with her shovel. Kurumi was able to get a closer look at it now; a hockey stick, with the hockey blade replaced with a large, serrated kitchen knife with an equally sharp point, creating a makeshift spear. "K-Kid, wait a second, I'm not here to hurt you!"

She was a small child, seemingly about 9 or so. She had long hair, and what looked like two buns tied in her hair; and she glared at Kurumi, jumping back and keeping her spear raised. "Listen! I-I'm here looking for someone, that's all!" The girl just continued to glare, beginning to circle. "I don't wanna hurt you, I promise! I'm looking for someone… Wakasa Ruu, I think she went to school here, do you know who or where she is?"

That was clearly the wrong question, as the girl's eyes widened before narrowing her eyes once more, charging again. This was something new to Kurumi; in the past 9 months she had killed many zombies, but they were slow and predictable. Here was a small but fast and agile girl, with a weapon like her. It didn't help that while Kurumi didn't want to hurt this child, she clearly didn't feel the same way. "Seriously, quit it, I don't want to hurt you!"

This time the child swung by her feet, forcing Kurumi to back up. _She's trying to get me in the corner!_ She realized, forced to block another blow. _Alright, no more playing nice! She's still just a kid, but its time to get serious! _"Alright, brat, come get some!"

The girl took the invitation, swinging her spear as Kurumi swung her shovel; now actually fighting back instead of just parrying blows, the young girl struggled to keep her ground, although Kurumi was surprised she was strong enough to remain standing at all. But it became clear that despite the girl being stronger than her appeared, Kurumi was stronger. _But she's probably faster than me… If I let my guard down, this kid is gonna kill me! Namekawa Grade School… when Yui mentioned 'brats from hell,' was it really these kids!?_

The girl swung again, and Kurumi blocked once more. "Alright kid… Hope you're ready to get _schooled!"_

The silence that followed that moment was deafening, as both women completely stopped in their tracks for a few moments, and Kurumi's face reddened.

"… That sounded cool in my head, alright!?"

The girl charged again, as Kurumi parried the blow once again, this time keeping them locked together. But she kept up a grin. _And that's it!_ With their weapons locked Kurumi kicked her in the side, the young girl's eyes widening at the sensation as she began to momentarily lose her balance; followed by the shovel slamming into her side and knocking her down. "Really didn't want to do that, kid. You ready to start behaving?" She said, grabbing the girl's spear, narrowing her eyes as she was glared back. "Listen. I'm serious… I don't know what the hell was happening here, but I really promise you I don't mean any harm, alright?" She asked, smiling even as the child glared. Kurumi kept holding onto her spear, while also pointing her shovel at her. "I'm Kurumi. You?" The girl just crossed her arms and continued glaring. "Alright, not a talkative kid. Listen. I'm looking for Ruu. She would've been a student here before… everything happened. I just want to talk to her. There used to be people living here, right? If you know anything—"

"Kurumi!? Kurumi, I thought I heard something, are you OK!?"

"Dammit- Rii, stay back! Its dangerous! Stay away!" And in her moments caught off guard the girl snatched her spear back from her hand, jumping back. "Oh, hell! Rii, there's a crazy kid in here, don't come in!"

"A crazy kid!? What are you… ah…?"

Rii entered the room, her eyes wide. "No way…"

"Rii! Listen, I know she's just a kid, but she's bad news! I need to disarm her, OK!?"

But she noticed she was staring at the child, and the child stared back in shock, her little eyes open as she dropped her spear.

_No way… is that-!?_

Rii took a few steps forward, dropping her baseball bat. "Is that you…?"

The little girl said nothing.

"Ruu… I-it's me… its Rii…"

* * *

"Its not a guarantee, but I'm confident they'll come back with me to the prison."

While Yuki and Miki ate, Yui was resting on the roof of the station, speaking into a handheld ham radio. How long had it been since she had seen the sun? Too long.

"_And four of them? That's pretty good!" _A woman on the other said with a laugh. _"Even if they're lockers… you said one of them was pretty strong?"_

"That Ebusizawa girl. I think she's the main fighter. Separate her from the group, let her enter the Castle and keep the rest in the Fields. They seem pretty tight… but you know lockers. Give them luxury and they forget those bonds pretty quickly."

"_The same can be said for most people, can't it?"_

Yui went quiet. "… I don't… like doing this, you know. You guys promised I don't have to do this anymore after this assignment is over."

"_It's not like you're lying to them. We'll give them food, water, and shelter, and they start out at the bottom of the food chain. No need to mention the less __**savory **__details about it. You're doing a good job for us, we're proud."_

"Whatever… just… Go easy on them when they get there, alright? It's a lot harder than I'm letting them know…"

"_Of course, of course. Listen, don't be so down about it, alright? Yuzumura's probably going to be happy, and so will the boss, and you'll probably get rewarded."_

"I don't care about rewards. I just want to do what's best for our people. That doesn't mean I like what we have to do," Yui said, lighting a cigarette. "Signing out."

"_We're waiting for you back home, hero," _and with that, the other woman signed out as well.

_It's a real shame,_ Yui thought as she looked at the clouds above.

_I really wish you kids could have stayed in that high school of yours._

* * *

_**Chapter End**_

* * *

Well! This certainly isn't something I ever thought I'd write!

_Gakkou Gurashi _was a huge special interest to me throughout much of 2016. However, extreme frustrations with the University Arc caused me to drop it; and now that its finally over, I decided I'd finally read the rest of it.

... Well, I still think the first 30 chapters are a masterpiece in itself. I'm actually still pretty pissed about the whole Ruu twist, and especially how Rii was written from that point. I really felt like Gurashi stopped being something special and just became another dime in the dozen in regards to zombie literature... but re-reading the beginning of this manga reminded me of the passion and love I once had for it. So, after talking about it with friends; here it is, my rewrite fic!

Am I striking the fire while its hot immediately once the final chapter hits, or am I writing a fanfic far too early? Regardless, I'm writing a fanfic for a lesser known fandom... ah well! This was so much fun, and even if I don't like 2 out of the 3 major arcs of the story; as long as you have fun that's what matters, right? It's gonna be a darker fic than canon; significantly much more so, actually. That being said, this is fun; and I already have a lot of plans for this story. So if you read this; I hope you stick around and enjoy it! Reviews as you can imagine are very much adored!

This is a story about remembrance. I think in any zombie story, one thing is an absolute; everything dies. It is the one fundamental truth of the real world. And more importantly, this is a story about the legacies we leave when we die. If you have read my oneshot Ozymandias, or, Ramses, the central conflict is about Ayaka wanting to lave her mark into history; and that is a story I want to write. We will all die one day, but the actions we take on earth and our interactions with others will build our legacies that can last long after we die, or until they die as well. What does it mean to be remembered by history? What does it mean to leave a legacy on this world? What does it mean to disappear into the annals of history without making a single mark on society, and what does it mean to fight that or come to peace with it?

And this is a story of those thoughts. The bonds we leave with others and how they affect others even after we die and change the world around us, combined with what _Gakkou Gurashi_ was at heart in the beginning; a story of healing of trauma, and how we cope with the world around us when it falls apart on us. I hope you enjoy it.

PS: If you subscribed to me for _Honoka's Bizarre Adventure_ and you're waiting on the newest chapter, dw, its not dead or abandoned! Its just been a really rough semester, and I just wanted to strike the fire for this fic during Thanksgiving break. I actually have a lot of schoolwork due next week too... I'll try to write chapter 2 and finish the prologue arc by Saturday, but in a worst case scenario it might have to wait too. I just wanted to strike at this fire while it was hot, but HBA remains a dedicated passion project of mine that will be updated soon as well!

Have a good weekend, and remember, no matter how bad things may get, _**good things can happen while we're alive.**_


	2. Silence

_"There's no need for goodbyes or funerals, when we have each other's love and memories in our hearts. And as long as we can pass down that love and happiness to the people we care about and to the next generations, I think we can live forever, in a weird way. Love is the most important thing though. If we pass on love... I know the world is going to become a better place, no matter how hard it is today. So... pass on love and hope, not hate."_

_\- Shidou Kei's final words and will._

_**Hear  
The  
Ringing  
Echoes**_

* * *

_"Just because something isn't a lie does not mean that it isn't deceptive. A liar knows that he is a liar, but one who speaks mere portions of truth in order to deceive is a craftsman of destruction."_

_\- Criss Jami_

**_Prologue Arc_**

"_Divergence"_

* * *

_Chapter 2:__**  
Silence**_

_There's nothing wrong with enjoying this, you know._

_The world has become scary. Don't think of them as people anymore. It's like a video game you play; they're just bad guys. It's OK to be happy after killing bad guys._

_Well, really, who's bad or good doesn't matter. It's OK to be happy after killing them._

_The normal ones too._

"She's my sister. Her name is Ruu."

Ruu was snapped out of her reminiscing at her big sister's words. Ruu did not expect to ever meet her sister, or her parents again. She came to that conclusion shortly after this all began; she and the other children of Namekawa had learned the lesson Yui spoke of earlier, as did most scavengers. And now that only she remained, she was prepared to spend the rest of her days alone. Protecting the school that was once a fortress built by children, protecting herself with booby traps and the survival skills she had been forced to build.

Kurumi had not been the first intruder into Namekawa Grade School she dealt with, and she did not intend for her to be the last. She wasn't intending on killing Kurumi, honestly; just injure her and force her to leave. Leave her quiet little world populated by her alone.

For a second she was afraid she'd have to do more before she realized who the second voice was. It was so surreal, being confronted with her past like this. She felt there was nothing left to do in her life at this point except for sensei's return. But not _her._

What were these emotions swelling in Ruu's tiny heart? Happiness? Regret? Fear? Alternating hope and despair in her heart as well. Maybe she was finally losing it and was seeing things, breaking down like the lockers so often did?

But the hug was too warm and too solid to be a figment of her imagination.

"_Y-you're Ryuko, right? Wakasa Ryuko? Ruu?"_ her sister had asked, tears in her eyes. She pulled away from the embrace to look at the younger girl in her eyes, tears running down her face as she talked to the small girl.

"_This is… this is really her?" _Kurumi had asked. She still had her shovel out, just to be safe. _Good,_ Ruu thought. Her sister was traveling with someone who didn't let their guard down. That was important.

"_I… it's you, right, Ruu?"_ Rii had asked. And Ruu looked up at her sister.

She opened her mouth.

She closed her mouth.

She nodded.

"_Ruu… Is everything OK?" _Rii asked, clearly worried. Ruu didn't know how to explain it; because she couldn't. _"Are you sick or something?"_

Ruu had bitten on her lip, trying to think of how to communicate. She opened her mouth and tried to gesture at something come out of her mouth, before shaking her head. That message was able to get across, though;

_She's mute._

Rii and Kurumi had the realization at the same time, Kurumi's expression sad and sympathetic and Rii's eyes widening in horror. Rii had heard about this before; people not talking in a response to trauma. Yuki was the way she was in response to the world crumbling around her, did it steal her sister's ability to talk too?

"_It's OK, Ruu. You're safe now, OK?" _Rii assured, pulling her sister into another tight hug. And an emotion Ruu hadn't felt in a long time filled her; warmth. Warmth, peace, serenity…

And with that, Ruu had dropped her spear, embracing her sister. And just for a single, split moment, she felt normal again. But not the new normal, old normal, like when she was a normal child who just went to school to learn with all her friends, with a big sister who loved her waiting at home.

_I missed you, neechan._

But the words didn't leave her mouth, and that fact returned Ruu back to her new normal.

And with that, after Ruu gathered the few personal items she still had, the three girls had departed Namekawa Grade School.

Ruu had been, needless to say, quiet the whole way back. She refused to leave her spear behind, despite the older girls trying to convince her she would be safe (she had actually given quite the glare to Kurumi when she pressed on about it, who then backed off).

For the most part she had been talking to Kurumi about things, about what to do when they got back. Ruu tuned it out, just facing her sister and nodding once in a while when directly asked something. They made their way back to a building she and other children had been aware of, some kind of broadcasting station apparently? They had never really pried into it. And there, she was now meeting her sister's other traveling companions.

"Let's start over, alright kid? I'm Ebusizawa Kurumi!" Kuurmi said, giving a friendly smile. She clearly felt bad about being violent with her earlier, and Ruu responded with a nod.

"Call me Yui…" The older woman said, with a nod, and Ruu nodded back. She was… nervous around adults, to say the least. But some fears ran even deeper than just paranoia…

"IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII'm Takeya Yuki! It's really nice to meet you, Ruu-chan! Weh, you're such a little cutie!" Yuki said, rushing over and getting a tad bit too close for her comfort. Something felt… odd. "Rii-san, you didn't let us know she was so cute! And you just picked her up from school?"

"Yes, Yuki-chan. She's… she's on vacation now, so since we graduated, I thought we should go get her. Let her spend her vacation with us, while my parents are away."

Ruu blinked. _What?_

Yuki was as chipper as ever though. "We just graduated from high school, so we're on our way over to University now! … Err, well, we might be! There's actually a prison where we might go to… b-b-b-but we didn't do anything bad or stuff, we're just maybe going to get jobs there!"

Something was _extremely wrong _with this one, and Ruu did not like it at all.

"Senpai, I think you're scaring her…" The other short-haired one said, and Yuki let out a nervous laugh.

"Err… sorry Mii-kun, it's just so exciting to meet new people!"

This 'Mii-kun' frowned, sighing as she faced the young girl. "And I'm Naoki Miki. It's nice to meet you."

That's when things went odd.

At the mention of her name, Ruu's eyes went wide as saucers, her head snapping up at the mention of Miki's name, staring at her for a few moments. "I… Is something wrong?" Miki asked, gulping.

Ruu opened her mouth and closed it again, before shaking her head; but nobody was convinced.

"Let's give the kid some rest, OK?" Yui suggested, clapping her hands. "The poor kid has probably seen so much. Let's just have some tea and crackers, alright?"

"Sorry Ruu-chan, we ate all the mochi…" Yuki said with a little nervous grin.

Ruu remained distant that day, happy to have something to drink other than water, and refused to turn down food. Her sister was sitting next to her. She tried to make small talk with her, but Ruu wasn't very interested. She felt bad ghosting her sister like this, but she was more focused on trying to observe those around her; specifically, Miki and Yuki. There was an uncomfortable air lingering after Ruu's reaction to Miki's name, and Rii in particular wanted to figure out what was going on. With Yuki though, her reaction seemed almost… angry? Annoyed?

No, something greater, even.

Ruu didn't know the full story of her sister and her friends yet, and she wanted to learn, but judging from how Yuki acted, their tolerance of it, and how clean their clothing still was there was absolutely no doubt in her mind:

_Lockers._

"So, where did you find your sister?" Yui asked, breaking the ice; and something inside Ruu's heart felt like it froze over. "I thought you were just searching for supplies… And you go and find your sister?"

_Ohnonononononononononono._

_Please don't say you found me at Namekawa!_

"She was… at my old house," Rii lied, much to Ruu's relief. "It was in the area… I know you spoke to us about hope bringing despair but, I just had to look, you know? My sister had barricaded the house, so we knew someone was in there, and here she is," Ruu sighed in relief.

"Looks like a strong kid too. That's a nice spear you made, Ruu-chan," Yui said with a smile. "You're small and all, so it helps you compensate. Any kid that hasn't died yet uses spears, but I got to say, I'm impressed with yours' quality," Ruu actually beamed a little at the praise, dark as it may have been, and Rii at the least was happy to see her sister smile again. "Good quality too. Spears are kind of common weapons now; but they use bodies too thin or small steak knives, break too easily…"

Ruu kept smiling.

"… I've seen this quality of spear around here before. I'll take it… you looted it off a dead kid, didn't you?"

Ruu frowned and nodded, as she got behind Rii.

"What are you implying?" Rii asked.

"There used to be a… group of children, violent little shits with spears of this quality. Those brats from hell abandoned their main base though… good riddance. But they had spears just like this…"

"My sister just said she found it, isn't that right?" Ruu nodded again. "She found a good weapon and has been using it. I told you, she's been barricading herself in our house. Lay off her; she's just a kid, alright?"

"… Right," Yui said, stretching her limbs. "Just a kid…"

Ruu knew Yui was suspicious of her.

Ruu also knew she was right to be suspicious.

* * *

Ruu had come to utterly despise Yuki in only a day of being here.

She was already uncomfortable from her just moments after meeting her; but every second with this girl to had had become absolutely infuriating. How, why was her sister and these people allowing this insanity to continue?

Early the next day the girls had woken up for breakfast, some oatmeal and cereal. What should have been a peaceful meal was, of course, interrupted by Yuki as she made a… face.

"_Puu-!"_

"_Yuki, what are you doing?"_ Rii had asked, as Ruu also rose an eyebrow.

"_Mealtimes should be fun! I wanted to make her laugh…"_ Yuki said with a laugh, earning a chuckle from Yui. _Come on, not you! _Ruu thought.

"_Your friend knows how to break the monotony of this place,"_ Yui had said, much to Ruu's displeasure.

"_Senpai, come on! You're acting like a child!"_ Miki scolded, while Kurumi just gave a little grin.

"_I think that's as mature and adult-like as she can be…"_

"_A-are you making fun of me, Kurumi-chan!?"_

"_What a bad girl… make sure not to act like her, Ruu!" _Rii said… and Ruu complied, returning back to her food.

"_Kids usually copy bad things, so that's a good sign she's got a good head on her shoulders," _Kurumi had said.

"_You guys are bullying meeee…"_

"_You kind of deserve it, senpai."_

Ruu was at her limit.

She paced around on the roof of the station that night with her spear in hand, thinking of what to do. She knew she shouldn't judge; they were lockers. Lockers were… sometimes unstable, even compared to the rest of them. She knew that already. But this Yuki was a new brand kind of unstable she hadn't seen. And that scared her too… what if she snapped further? What if she became _dangerous?_

There had been people trying to cope their own way and snapped… she thought life was some kind of school club. What if she thought 'going to Heaven' was just a field trip she wanted to take others with, a mission she had to fulfil? She may not have seemed capable of it, but just a year ago Ruu never thought she could gut and skin a rabbit or kill something that used to be human. If that happened, did her sister and her friends have the strength to do what they'd have to do?

Ruu wasn't thinking like a child. She wasn't thinking like a normal person either. She was thinking as a _survivor. _It wouldn't have been hard. Yuki would have believed her if they went on a walk together, just saying they were bonding. There'd be a dozen opportunities to abandon her to zombies, or take her spear and…

Do what'd keep everyone safe and hide the body. It'd be easy.

_You're just doing what you have to, Ruu. Its ok._

Her sensei's words were echoing in her head.

_In this world, you need to do what you have to do._

_You've become so strong, Ruu. I'm proud of you._

_Do it, Ruu. Do it. Take your __**revenge**__ now. You've earned the right._

_What's wrong with enjoying it? Isn't it fun? Like killing a bad guy in a video game? Ruu…_

_Ruu…_

… _You should smile more. Even during this. Especially during this._

And despite everything, a grin did form on Ruu's face. If she kept everything safe… then… then she should… for the good of anyone, she should-!

_You don't have to be this way, Ruu._

But it was wiped off her face when _**that woman's**_voice filled her head, so much different than sensei's.

_Maybe you can't be a normal kid again… but you can still be good, Ruu._

_We don't have to be violent like this. You don't have to be violent like this!_

_I think you're a good kid- … no. You're a good person deep down, even though you've had to do bad things. It's OK._

_Its… its ok to cry. You can cry now. I won't judge you. Let it all out._

_It's OK to be human, Ruu._

She sat down, spear falling to her side as she dropped it as she forced back sobs, eyes watering as she gazed up at the peaceful night sky. Surviving in this world had been so easy before meeting _her. _When she just did what sensei had taught them, but then _she _taught her to be kind again. Why? What good was kindness in a world like this? What good was love?

_I don't understand, _she thought to herself. But unlike her sensei, she knew that woman she would never see again. She pleaded in her head as she looked at the moon above, as if thinking that woman's voice would shine down from it, giving her the answers she'd been craving for over a month. _Tell me why! Tell me why! Tell me why you were so nice to me despite what I did to you!_

_It's OK to be human, Ruu._

She decided for now she'd live as a human and not a survivor. _I won't question you, Yuki, _she thought to herself. If this is what made Yuki and the rest happy… she'd bite her tongue and go with it.

_But if you ever do anything to put them in danger, I'll kill you._

She was nine years old, and her decision was clear.

* * *

"Alright, girls. This is day six. I think it's time I got an answer."

After her morning broadcast, Yui had sat everyone down.

"It's been a fun few days. Like… legitimately, it's been great. But tomorrow I'm doing my last morning broadcast, and then I'm heading back to the prison. And again… you're not staying here. This is too valuable for my group to leave for someone else to settle into. I'll give you two gallons of gas if you don't want to come –and that is an _**incredibly **_generous gift I'm giving you by the way- and a little food and water, but that's it," Yui said, laying down the law. "Tomorrow morning, I'm leaving, and you're coming with me or we're all going our separate ways."

The School Living Club was quiet, and looked at one-another, before nodding.

"Yui-san…" Yuki took a step forward. "We… we decided… we decided we're going to come with you to the prison!"

Ruu's eyes widened. _Prison?_

Yui grinned. "Came to your senses, eh?"

"I… I want to go to college. I want to get my degree and a good job! But… the economy isn't even good right now, so a good job is probably worth a lot more!" Yui couldn't help but laugh.

"Now that we have Ruu… a child… we can't afford to just chase after maybes and ghosts," Rii said. "It's the only sensible solution," Ruu tugged on her shoulder hard, and Rii patted her head. "Ruu, I'm sorry we didn't talk about this but we've made our decision. Just trust us, we're going to keep you safe from now on, I promise."

"If my mom and dad could see me now…" Miki let out a chuckle. "Yeah. The prison is my bet too."

"Its unanimous. Tomorrow we go, alright?" Kurumi said, and Ruu was deathly still. "It's gonna suck like hell, but we're doing it. Megurigaoka Adult Correctional Facility, here we come!" Ruu's eyes were wide as dinnerplates.

Yui laughed. "Hey. Keep your spirits up. You'll work your ways up. And from the stories you've told me, it's the kind of stuff you're used to; gardening, patrols, and barricading. It's just like what you were doing at the school. Longer hours, less fun, but I'm sure you'll all manage… is uh… is that kid alright?"

"Ruu… Ruu, I know its scary, the idea of a prison; but there's food, water, and shelter. You need to relax, OK?" Rii said, hugging her tightly. "Your big sister is here now, you're safe, Ruu."

Ruu's distress was not lost on Yui in particular. "… Well, tomorrow, we leave. So, grab everything from your car and what you've brought with you, 'cuz we're _not_ coming back, alright?" She said, shooting a look at the small girl, who glared in response.

"Aye aye, Yui-san!" Yuki said with a salute, earning a laugh.

"Well, I'm going to take a nap… It would've been an hour drive before, but with so many streets caught up and having to take out _them _now and again, it'll probably take a few hours at the least. So, let's all get ready for a long day tomorrow, alright?"

"This is really it… the next adventure," Kurumi said. "So much for the Randall Corporation…"

"At the end of the day, what can we do? We're just girls who nev- … just graduated high school, its not like we had much to go off on," Miki said. "We were just chasing after the only plan in front of us. And now we have a much better plan."

"Not gonna lie though- I'm gonna miss being my own boss, you know?" Kurumi said with a sigh. "Even with Megunee around, we mostly made our own rules and governed ourselves. It's been… a nice way to live, you know?"

"Can't say I didn't get to enjoy it for long, but the time I did… it was a really nice thing you all had going," Miki said. "I wish I could've enjoyed it a bit longer before going to a 9-to-5 kind of life."

"Ruu… Ruu, please…"

Everyone frowned, looking over at Rii, who's sleeve was still being tugged on by Ruu. "Is Ruu-chan OK?" Yuki asked.

"Something is… really spooking her. Sweetie, can you please try to say something?" Rii asked, very worried now. Ruu opened her mouth and tried to speak but nothing came out except frustrated grunts; and it visibly flustered her, Ruu's cheeks flushing red as tears welled up in her eyes.

"Hold on… I-I have an idea! I actually got a gift for Ruu-chan!" Yuki said, looking over her shoulder to make sure Yui was out of earshot. "I… I didn't want Yui-chan to know, so I was waiting until we got to the prison, but here!" She opened her backpack, taking out several notebooks and pens. "They're for you, Ruu-chan! So, you can talk even though you don't like to talk!"

"Did you steal those from Yui!?" Kurumi asked.

"I-I thought it'd be good for Ruu! We're going to get jobs at the prison, I was going to pay her back, honest!" Yuki defended.

"Ruu-chan… this way you can communicate. Thank you Yuki-chan, it means a lot," Rii said with a smile, giving a notebook and pen to Ruu. "Your handwriting was always a little messy, so try your best now, OK?"

Ruu wasted no time writing something down.

For a split second, everyone was smiling as Ruu was finally finding a way to communicate with the rest.

In a time-frame just as quick, everyone's eyes widened.

* * *

"Alright, this is it. The gas… this is enough to get us a full tank and then some. Then we can get the hell out of here before Yui wakes up," Miki said to Rii at 2 in the morning, as she finished siphoning gas from Megumi's car, putting it into the RV's tank. "If we're going to run, we need to do it _now._"

"She's going to report to those prison guys the moment she realizes what happened. We have to stay clear of that entire area now," Rii said, putting some rations into a bag.

"She can't follow us, but she won't starve to death… we're leaving the rations and water from the station. Are we… are we sure that's a good idea?" Miki asked, double checking to make sure there was nothing left they could siphon, before heading back inside the RV. "I don't know if this is a good idea…"

"We're not murderers. We're not killing her; but we can't let her go back there," Rii emphasized. "It's for our own safety. She's already going to contact them by radio as it is, we're taking enough risks" she said, patting Ruu's head as she hugged her leg. "Where's Yuki and Kurumi…?"

"They said they were grabbing the rest of our stuff from inside," she said. Yuuri, Miki, and Ruu were in the back of the RV, planning their next move. It was all simple until that morning; leave for the prison to start new lives as members of a society. But now… "We should leave—"

"Hey, you kids are up early."

The three's blood went cold as they saw Yui enter the RV, smiling at them.

"… Y-Yui…" Rii said, taking a step forward as her blood ran cold. Miki took a step back as well, and Ruu grabbed her spear and pointed it at the woman with a glare.

"Goodness, you were in such a hurry to head to the prison you wanted to take off in the middle of the night? The zombies aren't as active during the night, returning to the homes they're familiar with… but many are still active and lie around. It's too dangerous for us to head on now."

That smile made the three terrible uncomfortable.

"We've made the decision to head to St. Isidore University after all, and immediately," Miki said, narrowing her eyes and trying to take control of the situation. "We're rejecting your offer, Yui-san. We didn't want to wake you."

"I can imagine; I wouldn't want to wake someone up while I'm robbing them," she said, rubbing the back of her head and sighing. "You could have just told me you changed your mind last minute, you know…"

"We decided we didn't want to risk hostility with you or your fellows," Rii said now. "Your people are not well known for rejecting invitations, after all."

"I knew it…" Yui let out a low chuckle. "That little brat… came from Namekawa Grade School, didn't she? I probably would have killed her if I had found her on her own…" that sent chills down Rii's and Miki's spines, so casually talking about murdering a mere child. "Do you have any idea what those brats of hell have done in this world? What they're _capable of?_ I can't expect lockers to understand it, the reality of the world outside of their precious holes in the ground where they tried to wait out the apocalypse!"

"Whatever my sister and her friends did to survive doesn't matter; what matters is that _you didn't tell us the truth, Yui!_" Rii snapped, her eyes an angry glare.

"Oh…? It's not like I've lied to you. At the prison, you'll have a roof over your head, food, water, shelter… protection and life. You'll have to work your ass to earn your keep, but after a while it gets easier."

"You _also _didn't mention twelve-hour work days," Miki said, also glaring. "With virtually no breaks or rest… a _single _meal a day, and of course, physical punishment for dissention… that is to say, you omitted the fact we'd be _slaves._ Don't think we would have figured out if Ruu didn't tell us what she knew about you all."

"What an ugly word… slaves don't really have the capability to move up in the social ladder, you know. I didn't lie about that. You have your chances for a better life… Ebusizawa will probably be valued right away as a patroller and fighter. And as long as I keep my mouth shut about your sister being from Namekawa, there are children and teachers there…" Yui said, taking a step forward. "Compared to most places out here, outside of your school, it's the best option."

"And maybe it is the safest option for us. But we're not going to live like that," Rii said. "We're going to take our chances. We're heading to St. Isidore University; and we're making sure you _can't _follow us, Yui," she narrowed her eyes still. "Did you... did you even mean what you said about a therapist who could have helped Yuki?"

"We do have a therapist... not that Yuki probably would have seen him. That personality of her's would've been useful in the fields, honestly," Miki's and Rii's hatred intensified in that moment. "What a shame though, really… I really, really didn't want it to end like this, you know," she said. "Sure there's nothing I can do to change your minds…?"

"Nothing at all," Miki said. "We don't have to be violent, but we're taking this RV," she said, raising a baseball bat she had bought with her. "Please… please don't make us hurt you."

"… I really don't think you kids fully understand. Hurt me? Please."

The three girls practically felt their hearts stopped when a revolver was pointed at them.

"_I'm _the one that's going to be hurting all of you if you don't start listening."

* * *

"Kurumi! Kurumi! Please wake up, Kurumi!"

The School Living Club had thought they were a step ahead of Yui, but were sorely mistaken.

"_Good thing I stayed_ _up late, wasn't it?" _

Yui had smiled at them when she had approached them on the roof. _"Not to be rude, but those supplies are __**mine, **__Takeya, Ebusizawa."_

"_Screw off," _Kurumi had retorted, shovel raised. _"We know about the prison, what you do with your recruits. We're not your slaves- we're not going there, and we're making sure you can't track us down!"_

"_You lied to us... about getting jobs..." _Yuki said, tears in her eyes. _"You... you lied to us to make us to go an awful place!"_

"_No lies; just not the whole truth... I guess it's one and the same in this world though, huh? I can't really blame you for hating me for this. Hell, if we're being honest, I hate myself for doing it," _Yui admitted. _"But for my people, I'll do what it takes for us to thrive and grow! Even if it means doing bad things, even it means misleading kids like you, I'll do it! So, don't... don't make me out to be evil or something, here!"_

"_Even if you're not evil, you're sure as hell not good, and we're not letting you get ANYWHERE near us!" _Kurumi said. _"We're taking your RV, and we're not leaving fuel in our car. So, tell your cronies to come rescue you or something, because we're done!" _She had walked up close to Yui, who sighed.

"_... Very well, well played. Just grab my things and go," _Yui had said, and Kurumi glared before turning her back to her; a mistake.

Yuki's eyes widened as she Yui draw something from the back of her pants. _"KURU-"_

But before she could finish the butt of her revolve slammed on the back of Kurumi's head, and even the experienced zombie hunter's eyes widened before slumping over. _"KURUMI-CHAN!"_

"_Get back in the station," _Yui said, pointing the revolver at Yuki.

"_I... I...!"_

"_I'm not screwing with you- get your ass back in the fucking studio while I deal with this mess! Wait there obediently, it's all you can do!" _She screamed, and Yuki felt she had no idea but to follow, the most terrified she had been since the first days.

And that's how Yuki found herself alone within the bunker.

_What am I supposed to do? _Yuki had thought to herself. Yui had a gun. Yui was armed. And she was; she was just Takeya Yuki. A young woman between the period of graduation and matriculation, without any life experience of her own. A girl who had never once in her life been able to stand on her own, and as a young woman still did not know how to do so.

Yuki was scared. As she had always been, for years now.

_Save me... _she thought to herself, wiping away at tears. _Someone save me... Megu-nee..._

She curled into a fetal position, shaking. Somebody, anyone. Megu-nee, Kurumi, Miki, Rii or even Ruu; she just wanted to feel _safe. _Secure. Protected. Isn't that what everyone wanted? Wasn't that the whole purpose of living and getting job? So, you could get a job and have the money so you could feel safe?

The illusions in Yuki's life started breaking that day with the helicopter, and while they hadn't all shattered, the reality behind them was _scary _and she hated it. She didn't want to be a graduate anymore. She wanted to go back to being a student at Megurigaoka Private High School, where she lived with Kurumi and Rii and now Miki and go back to how _peaceful _it was there, other than the stray _delinquent _that Kurumi would send home!

_Megu-nee, where are you? Takae-chan? _Before it had always been the former delinquent that supported her... and she was a student too, where had she gone? She still remembered meeting her, that day in group therapy...

_My name's Yuzumura Takae. I'm here because of anger issues. I really don't want to be here, so don't fucking talk to me if you're not the doc._

"_Takae-chan... h-help me..." _Yuki whimpered. Takae had always promised to protect her, but she wasn't around now...

… Just like that scary day, was she really on her own...?

… Yeah, she was.

_Yuki-chan... we only got ourselves, you know? We can't rely on other people forever... if we wanna be happy, we gotta seize the reigns with our own hand! And make that damn horse listen to us!_

She wasn't thinking of Megu-nee in that moment. The strength to make her own future...

She got back up.

Her friends were in danger.

Rather than wanting someone to protect her, in that moment, she decided what she truly wanted was to be someone that Megu-nee and Takae would have been proud of.

She shook her head, ending her reminiscing from just ten minutes ago back to the present situation. Kurumi was unconscious; she was breathing, but unconscious. "You rest up... OK?" She said, taking Kurumi's shovel. "I need to borrow this..."

_Everyone, please, believe in me!_

* * *

"Jesus... this got so fucked up so quickly," Yui spat, rubbing the back of her head. "Alright, everyone, put your hands on the back of your head, get out of the RV and on your fucking knees _now! Grab that spear and you die!"_

Rii, Ruu, and Miki really didn't have any room to argue or fight back. They exited the vehicle like prisoners, hands behind their heads as they kneeled on the dirt.

"I only need to bring back two of you to meet my quota," Yui informed. "And honestly? Between all of you, Ebusizawa and now little Ruu here are the only ones that really matter. The rest of you were just more hands for the fields," she said. "We have enough workers, fighters is what we're really looking out for. Ebusizawa may reject it at first after what's happening, but she'll come around..."

"Dammit, Rii, what do we do?" Miki whispered.

"I... I think we need to try to stay on her good side right now..." Rii said, her tone defeated.

_This is so fucked up,_ Yui thought. _I don't want to murder kids. I don't even want to hurt them; I really wish they could have stayed in their high school and safe! I just, fuck! Let's see... I have rope. I can tie them all up and just drive over there. But what if they get free? They can ambush and overpower me! And in a worst case scenario, if they've really teamed up with those Namekawa kids, I don't want them knowing where the prison is if anyone escapes! Dammit dammit dammit! There's... fuck it. There's nothing to do about it..._

"_I'm going to kill you."_

The words echoed through the silent night.

"Naoki."

Miki felt her heart stop.

"Yuuri, Ebusizawa, and Ruu will be the three returning with me to the prison. Yuuri only because I'm confident that kid is going to raise hell the entire way if I do. This way, the rest of you get the memo that I mean business and wont' try more shit on our way back. So that means you and Takeya are about to clock out, Naoki."

"T-there's no reason for that-!" Rii pleaded. "We won't... we won't defy you on the way back; you win!"

"I like how you're the one pleading instead of Naoki," Yui commented, pointing her gun at the younger girl. "Not going to beg?"

"... If I'm going to die..."

_Are you fine with staying alive like this?_

_**I'VE HAD ENOUGH!**_

"... Then at the least, I'll face it with dignity," Miki said, closing her eyes. How long had she lived such an utterly monotonous life, just the act of being alive and not _living? _How many times had she wondered what might have happened if she set out with Kei that day? For the first time in months, with the School Living Club, Miki had finally experienced _living_ and not just breathing and eating.

She had treasured it, truly.

"_Think about what you're saying, Miki! That's your life!" _Rii was shouting now. Yui looked over her shoulder, making sure no zombies were attracted to the yelling.

"Then it's my life to live with and end how I want; I'm not going to die begging, even if it's on my knees!"

"I wish... I could have met you all before all this, I really do," Yui said, raising her pistol.

"Ten..."

"_Miki, say something, please!"_

"I'm really... happy I met you all. I really, genuinely am."

"Nine..."

"_Please, stop this! Don't kill her!"_

"We didn't want to go the prison because we didn't want to be like slaves; you and Kurumi-senpai... You'll have a chance. You can escape, I know it!"

"Eight..."

"_This is crazy!"_

"Hell, in a world like this, I think making sense is weird at this point..."

"Seven..."

"_Please don't do it! Please don't kill her!"_

"... From the bottom of my heart, I love you all, thank you."

There was a smile on Miki's face as she said that, even as tears streamed down her face.

And Yui wavered, her hand shakey and her breathing hard, tears welling in her eyes before scowling.

"_Six five four three two o-!"_

But Yui's execution was interrupted by the agony of something slamming into her side, sending her slumping to the ground and coughing.

"Y... Yuki-senpai!" Miki yelled out, shocked.

"Mii-kun! Rii-san! Grab your things, hurry!" Yuki pleaded, taking charge. Ruu was the first to spring into action, bolting for the truck and grabbing her spear and Rii's bat, running out with it and giving her sister the weapon.

"M... mother... fu..." Yui spat, gasping for air. _Something _was definitely broken, but she didn't know what. "Takeya...!"

"You're not hurting my friends!" Yuki declared, raising Kurumi's spear. "And we... are not going to be your prisoners either! We don't just want to survive, we want to _live!"_

"L... liiiive..." Yui drawled out, taking another gasp. She crawled over to the corner of the bunker, resting agains the wall. "How long has it been... since I was really alive...?"

"Being alive... is more than just eating, breathing, and sleeping. I learned that the hard way," Miki said. "Your colony... sounds like a place where only some people are alive and living, the rest... are like these things," Miki said. "Even if it's more dangerous, we want to live. Good things... can happen to us when we're still alive. And that's how I want to live"

"... So many... accept the rule of the prison, e-even those below... because it's safer..." Yui said. "This world is like a living hell, so much so some sell their souls and liberty for some safety..."

"I don't... I don't want to be like that!" Yuki said. "I love... I love life, and I love being alive! I can't... I can't go back to wishing I was dead, and a place like that..." She tightened her grip on Kurumi's shovel. "Just sounds like a place where I'd want to die than be a part of!"

"... I can't tell... if you're all stupid and naïve from being sheltered, or just smarter than I am..." Yui forced on a smile. "If I had been with you kids in the beginning... w-would I have avoided making all these decisions...? I want to know... if you weren't lockers, would you still love this world and still love being alive?"

Yuki was quiet.

"Living and dying... it's the same thing in a world like this, for most of us. But somehow... I just want to call you a crazy nutjob, but its more than that..." Yui said to Yuki. "Whether or not you'll hold onto your love... that's the real question. Your resolves... all of you... your desire to 'live' and not 'survive...' Hehe... I wish I could watch it..."

"... Girls...!" Rii's eyes widened, taking a step back. "Our yelling, we got company-!"

The zombies were beginning to approach. Thankfully not many, but still a handful, and Miki was unarmed.

A shot rang through the air as one fell to the ground, the girls facing Yui, forcing herself up as she leaned against the wall.

"G... get to the rooftop...! Most can't climb... the few that can you can knock down!" She said, forcing herself up, before dispatching another. "G-go!"

The girls and Yui tried to head in, but there were more zombis around the corner needed to climb up. It was then for the first time the girls saw Ruu in action against the undead; the small and agile girl ran up and stabbed them in the legs with the length of her spear, usually impaling their brains when they were forced down. A brutal and violent but very effective way of compensating for her small size.

"Yuki-senpai!"

"Ah...!"

Yuki was terrified, as always, but her grip remained firm as one approached. She thought to the one she had attacked in the school with the mop when alone...

_Megu-nee, Takae... please, watch over me!_

And with a single hard hit to its head, it fell over.

"Nice one, senpai!"

"I-I can be brave too!"

"T-there's not many left... we might... maybe we can clear them out before heading back!?" Rii asked, slamming her bat to one's side, followed by Ruu rushing over and stabbing its head when it was down. It unnerved her, how easily her sister could kill these things... "... Y... Yuki-!"

Yuki had run over to Yui's side. "Grab my shoulder! You can lean on me!"

"I... I was trying to kill you, what's wrong with you?"

"I have no idea!" Yuki yelled out. "But I... I don't want to leave anyone behind, even if they're a bad guy!" Yuki said. "I want everyone to be alive!"

"Takeya... Yuki... you...!"

"Come on, come on! We'll deal with you when we're safe!" Yuki said, getting behind her. "W-wrap an arm around me!"

"Behind...!"

Yuki's world froze as she heard a growl behind her and Yui, looking back and seeing what was once an adult man growling at her. "Ah...!" her shaky, gentle hands were on the shovel and ready to strike, but it was already leaning down for a bite, with no way to defend herself in time.

The next think Yuki knew, she was being pushed, and her butt was on the ground.

"Yui...!?"

Yui was smiling as the zombie took a chunk out of her collarbone and part of her throat.

"D-dummy... this is why I never got along with kids..."

Yuki screamed.

Ruu rushed over, making quick work of the zombie after the damage had been done... But Yuki was not calm, as she hyperventilated, slamming the shovel into the zombie's face over and over and over...

"Yuki, stop! You're going to make noise!" Rii said as she ran over.

And over and over and over...

"Yuki-senpai, please, its already dead!"

_And over and over and over and over and over and over!_

Yuki didn't hear whatever the other two said as they restrained her with hugs, dropping her shovel, which Miki then picked up.

"T... thatta girl..."

"Why...?" Yuki teared up, and then the tears fell a moment later, looking at Yui who had slumped on the wall once more. "Why did you do that when you wanted to hurt us!?"

"Made... too many mistakes..." Yui said, her breathing pained. "Over and over... b-before and after... Just to survive... forgot my humanity... D-didn't want to make one last mistake..."

"W... we should control the bleeding..." Miki suggested, but Rii put a hand on her shoulder, shaking her head.

"It's not going to make a difference... Keeping her from bleeding out might be crueler..."

"You... I thought it was just because you were lockers... but why do I feel like... you all wouldn't have made my mistakes...?" Yui asked, gasping. "The one who was flawed was me..."

"Yui-san...!" Yuki was crying, and Yui put a hand on her shoulder.

"You're so... gentle and pure... I thought... thought it was weakness. Too immature... But... you have your own strength, one I don't understand... n-not a refusal of reality... but love and kindness. D-don't let go of it just for something as silly as surviving... all of you... y-you're a club. Clubmates don't abandon eachother..."

She gasped.

"F... Find... St. Isidore... F-find Deguchi, if she's still alive... S-she'll look after you, her heart was pure like that..."

Yuki was crying into the shirt of a woman who had wanted to murder her.

"I... I'm happy... I t-t-t-tried to trick you... b-but the fun this last week... I-I promise that was real... I'm glad I met you all before dying, I really am."

Rii, Miki, and Ruu were all quiet, as Ruu looked over at Yuki. Strength...? This woman, a hardened survivor saw strength in how Yuki was? It wasn't the delusions or pretending they were in a club...

Love...

Why were people int his world so obsessed with love...?

_It's OK to be human, Ruu._

She decided she needed to make a better attempt to understanding Takeya Yuki.

"... Brother... are you... alive...?" She said to herself with a gasp. And as she felt strength vanish, she started thining about him.

"_You're a dummy, you know that!"_

"_**And proud of it! Better that than boring!"**_

"_Honestly, what did I do to have to have an idiot like you be related to me!?"_

"_**Same as me... you had the sin of being born to our shitty parents, ahahaha!"**_

"_Can you promise... You'll protect me even if bad things happen?"_

"_**Nah... I don't like making promises I can't promise I can keep. Nobody should. If bad things happen to you and I can't be there, then I'm a dirty liar. But... I always love you. Even if we're separated by millions of miles, or if I'm dead and drinking in heaven or burning in hell... I'll always love you OK? And in your worst moments... remember that."**_

Yui was smiling.

She was content.

In her last moments, she was happy with her life, and that she had met the School Living Club.

"_Ta... ka... shi..."_

And with that, with a smile on her face, she breathed her last.

* * *

"Alright, everyone, its time. We're heading to St. Isidore University," Rii said early next morning, her sister holding her hand in one and her spear in another.

None of them had slept a wink, of course. But still, after that night, it was good to rest physically.

It was time to leave Station 111, and their experience with Yui behind, and reach the university. They didn't know what to hope or expect; one again they were hunting down the mystery behind the Outbreak and the mysterious Randall Corporation, with no guarantee of a future.

But, if nothing else, they were the masters of their own fates. In their battle with Yui, they had won the right to their freedom.

It was a solemn, hard victory, and nobody felt happy or joyful, least of all Yuki. The experience of this past week was weighing hard on their minds. The School Living Club understood; it was _**this,**_ not their ceremony at Megurigaoka Private High School that was their true graduation from high school. Now, they were no longer ignorant of the world outside. Now, they truly understand the horrors that waited for them in a brave new world. Not just zombies, but other humans as well.

Megurigaoka Private High School was a terrifying place after the Outbreak, and they understood that compared to the places they would likely have to stay from this point onwards, it was like the Garden of Eden, an absolute paradise in the world.

But even if they could have turned back, they would have not.

They were adults now, and it was time to face the world, and all its horror like one. Miki had told Kurumi of Yui's final words, and even though she was not present, they played in her head nonstop. For all of them, even Ruu. Even though it was hours ago, her last words repeated like an echo that was deafening against the quiet night and quiet day. And they knew so long as they could hear the ringing echoes that Yui's memory and final imparted wisdom, terrible as it might have been, would always remain with them.

And none of the five girls thought the echoing would ever stop.

"I hope... if we meet someone else like Yui-san... that things can end differently that time..." Yuki said with a sigh, looking outside the RV window.

Everyone else was quiet as Kurumi drove, with Miki giving directions.

"... Ruu..."

In the back of the RV, after Yuki's comment that went without anyone addressing it, looked at her sister. "... Namekawa Grade School... you... what did you do, Ruu-chan? I'm not mad and I don't hate you..."

Ruu looked down.

"... What did you children have to do in order to survive in this world?"

Ruu wrote down in her notebook quickly.

**Everything.**

* * *

"Come on, it's our turn to patrol."

At a place not too far, two young adults left their base of operations. The first was a young woman with dark blue hair, wearing a skirt and wore a jacket like a cape. "What's up with you? You've been quiet all morning."

"... She didn't do a broadcast."

The man was a year or two older, with very straight hair and a baseball cap.

"Hm?"

"She didn't do her morning broadcast... she always does."

The woman shrugged. "She probably just overslept or didn't feel up for it. Don't dwell on it."

"... Nah," the man said, lighting a cigarette, facing up at the morning sky. "She's dead."

"How do you know?"

"I just do."

The woman scoffed. "You can't go in life with gut feelings... I'm sure she's alright."

"... It doesn't matter," the man said. "Let's kill some undead bastards."

"That's what I want to hear."

* * *

**_To be continued._**

* * *

And with that ends chapter 2, and with it, the prologue. This has been fun... if you had told me a month ago I'd ever rekindled my interest in Gakkou Gurashi, let alone that'd it happen after the final chapter, I would have called you a crazy person. But now... here we are. Its been... fun. Rediscovering why I loved this manga once so much, even though I had so many problems with it. Ruu is, despite the "twist" in regards to her character, for some reason one of my favorite characters, right under Ayaka; so it was really fun to explore her character in this chapter.

And with a solemn note, its off to St. Isidore for our heroes. And for me to take a quick break: in addition to some papers I gotta do for school for the end of the year, I really want to update _Honoka's Bizarre Adventure _before making another chapter of this. Not to say I'm not having fun, though, 'cuz I very much am! If you've enjoyed this, I hope you really enjoy what's to come.

_**Good things can happen if we're alive!**_


	3. Faith

_"There's no need for goodbyes or funerals, when we have each other's love and memories in our hearts. And as long as we can pass down that love and happiness to the people we care about and to the next generations, I think we can live forever, in a weird way. Love is the most important thing though. If we pass on love... I know the world is going to become a better place, no matter how hard it is today. So... pass on love and hope, not hate."_

_\- Shidou Kei's final words and will._

_**Hear  
The  
Ringing  
Echoes**_

* * *

_"Just because something isn't a lie does not mean that it isn't deceptive. A liar knows that he is a liar, but one who speaks mere portions of truth in order to deceive is a craftsman of destruction."_

_\- Chriss Jami_

_**Prologue Arc**_

_"Divergence"_

* * *

_Chapter 3:__**  
Faith**_

"Ruu gave us an updated map of the city. She made a lot of markings on the map we had; she said… this should help guide us to St. Isidore safely," Rii said, laying a map on the table in the RV as the School Living Club planned their next move.

The School Living Club had withheld immediately traveling to their next destination, spending a day resting in the safety of the radio station for the remainder of that day… and laying the body of Yui to rest, Kurumi and Miki burying her shortly after her demise, after she didn't rise back up.

**Its slower now.** Ruu had written for them in one of her new notebooks. **Its not like before when people were dying and becoming dead guys in an hour and always no matter what. The bite needs to be there for like 20 minutes before it makes them become a dead guy. And it takes a while for the fever to kill you.**

It was good to know, and also gave the girls a kind of hope; was the virus truly becoming weaker and more diluted over time? The girls had noticed that Kurumi's infection was nowhere near as rapid as the first days, but they were so scared and worried at the time they hadn't truly thought about it. Was there a chance that all they truly had to do was… wait out this apocalypse and they would be in the clear, without humanity needing to find a vaccine?

If all they had to do was wait out things, then the School Living Club was fairly certain they could do just that. But there were more pressing matters at hand. Ruu had spent a few hours carefully making adjustments to their map, and it would have been irresponsible not to view it.

"God… its…" Miki gulped. There were all sorts of names written down, the names of various survivor groups in the past 10 months of the apocalypse. With notes on their status, and it always said the same thing, almost every time:

_All dead._

_All dead._

_Mostly dead._

_Scattered._

_All dead._

_Disbanded._

_Scattered._

_All dead._

There were dozens of little notes made by Ruu; "Zoo Survivors," "Library Survivors," "Tool Store Survivors," never did she use any name like 'School Living Club,' but the message was enough. It was starting to dawn on the School Living Club how much the world outside had truly gone. Miki felt queasy at the realization that there had been so many groups at one point, all succumbing to the undead plague one-by-one. And now, Megurigaoka City had largely become a ghost town.

But there were a few names that stuck out.

_Mayor's Mansion Survivors._

_Alive._

_Megurigaoka Tower Survivors._

_Alive. STAY AWAY DANGEROUS!_

_College Survivors._

_Don't know. They were alive before._

_Prison Survivors._

_**ALIVE! STAY AWAY STAY AWAY STAY AWAY!**_

_Neechan's Highschool Survivors._

_All dead__ Alive._

Rii bit her lip; her sister had so accepted she and all her friends were dead for so long that it had been second nature to write that they were. _It's OK now though. I'm never going to leave you ever again, Ruu. From now, I'll be a good sister. _"So other than St. Isidore, we have the group at the Prison -Yui's people- and some people living where the mayor lived… isn't that the Western-style mansion?" Rii asked, and Kurumi nodded.

"There was that big uproar about it, remember? I remember my dad calling it a bribe so even more Western corporations can set up shop here," Kurumi said. "Either way, guess it's holding itself up pretty well."

"It's really pretty to look at from the outside… I've always wanted to go inside it!" Yuki said with a wistful sigh. "… Do you think I could go in if I became mayor?"

Kurumi laughed, patting Yuki's head. "Hey, you'd get our votes… but I think you'd _only_ get our votes," and the rest of the School Living Club laughed, leaving Yuki to sulk. "But… seriously."

"So, if anything goes wrong… we can fall back on this group in the mayoral mansion, maybe. What do you think, Ruu?" Miki said. Ruu looked at her before writing down again.

**I don't know. They're the most closed off lockers ever. Nobody talks to them and they don't let anyone in but lights were always on, and they have guns so everyone leaves them alone. But I don't know what's been happening much the last three months. **She wrote. **I don't think they'd let us in though. If people went up asking for shelter, they'd shoot to scare them away. They're quiet and weird and I don't know why they have guns 'cuz I thought they were hard to get. I don't like them.**

"Well, that's creepy," Kurumi said. "I guess that puts them out of the question, huh?" And Ruu nodded to that, earning a sigh from Kurumi. "What about these Meguiragaoka Tower guys, Ruu?"

**Raiders. They only take you in if you're tough as nails. A lot of them used to follow a guy called The Bear that got killed a while ago, they fight the prison guys a lot 'cuz one of them killed him. **Ruu explained.

"So that's three groups, and it looks like none of them are viable options to go with…" Kurumi noted, dread welling in her chest. "So, if St. Isidore falls flat…"

"We may have to consider taking our chances and leaving the city" Miki said. "But for all we know, it could even be worse out there than in here."

"Yui's people, though…" Yuki finally spoke up, and her voice was quiet and forlorn.

"… We almost fell for it," Kurumi said, clenching her fist. "That goddamn…" She was going to say more, but stopped at Yuki's frowning. Despite everything, Yuki in particular still heavily regretted how things with Yui had ended, and Kurumi didn't want to make her feel even worse. "We can't go there. You said they never forget, right, Ruu-chan?"

**No. If they know Yui died because of us and we took her stuff, they'll want our blood in return. We'll probably die. **It was unsettling to the entire group but especially Rii just how casually she wrote it.

"I guess its official; we have enemies now," Miki said. "I guess it's really important to get to this group in St. Isidore now, huh? We shouldn't be on our own, even if we have a guide."

"In a worst-case scenario, we could try getting back to your school, Ruu-chan," Kurumi offered, earning a look from the younger girl. "You'd boobytrapped it to hell and seemed to know how to keep it running. I'd feel kind of safe holding out in there. What do you think?" They stopped as Ruu thought about it, before shaking her head.

**I don't have a lot of supplies left. I've mostly been hunting for food. I don't think it can support more than just one or two people anymore. Sorry. **Ruu wrote, eager to quit this discussion on Namekawa.

_Hunting, eh? _Kurumi thought to herself. For the past 10 months or so it had only been canned food and what they grew on the roof, and the occasional dried meats from scavenging. The thought had crossed Kurumi's mind more than once, the idea of actually hunting for fresh meat, but without the knowledge to do so was not something they could attempt. She didn't know how to do it, but if she had a guide…

… Honestly, gross as it was, it sounded better than just eating preserved foods forever.

Rii went silent for a moment. "… Remember what Yui said though. She talked from 'brats from hell,' and seemed to recognize that as a child Ruu came from Namekawa Grade School…" An uncomfortable air befell the group. "I think… I think something bad happened there. The children; someone probably took advantage of them to make them do bad things," she reasoned. "Am I right, Ruu ? You can be honest, we're you're friends here…"

Ruu opened her mouth and closed it. And then she wrote.

**Drop it. Now. I mean it neechan.**

The other girls could practically see Rii's heart breaking, and all she could do was nod. They wanted to say something else, but the look on Ruu's face was one of both anger and discomfort as well. The School Living Club had a thousand questions for Ruu, but knew she did not trust them enough to answer most of their questions. She had charged Kurumi with a spear with the intent to kill her; Ruu would have _murdered _Kurumi if she could. Something happened to the children in there, something to make them… feared, and they didn't want to set Ruu off by accident.

And if Rii decided if she learned who did it and if they were alive, part of her knew what she wanted to do, even if the rest denied it; she wanted to kill them for whatever they had done to her sweet, kind sister.

"And there's this other stuff," Miki noted, noting several X's across the map. Sure enough, she recognized many of them as blockades that had formed on the roads. "We don't know how accurate this is now since your sister made it off memory, but… this is great. We finally know what roads to avoid," she said with a little smile. "It's just this part that kind of bothers me…" There was a large location circled by Ruu;

_**HELL PUPPIES**_

_**DON'T GO IN HERE!**_

"That bad, Ruu-chan?" Kurumi asked, and Ruu nodded. She was about to write something down before taking a big yawn.

"Ruu, are you tired?" Rii asked with a smile. And Ruu had a little blush of embarrassment as she shook her head… before yawning again. "Ruu, why don't you go to bed? We'll be leaving soon; we can wake you up when we're there."

**What if you need my help though?**

"Don't worry, Ruu. If we need your help, we'll wake you up, OK?" Rii's smile was motherly and assuring, and despite the fact she didn't really seem to want to… Ruu nodded, succumbing to her sleepiness.

**Don't get me killed while I'm sleeping.**

That was another dull blow to the group's stomach as Ruu went off to her and Rii's bed, as Rii sniffles once she had crawled under the covers.

"What has this world done to you, Ruu…?"

"Once we're someplace safe, I'm sure Ruu will start improving," Kurumi reassured. "This world is… the little kids probably had it the worse. I can't even imagine being a kid in a world like this, even if we had grownups helping us…"

Yuki gave Rii a comforting hug. "She's gonna be OK… we're gonna make sure she's OK!" Yuki said. "We're not gonna let anything bad happen to her ever again!"

And Rii smiled, patting Yuki's back. "Thank you both, it's just… she was so sweet. Making origami was her favorite hobby… I just want to know what happened to her specifically. To Namekawa Grade School…"

"And we're going to figure it all out, Rii-san," Miki said. "But right now, we need to get to a safe place. We need to get to St. Isidore… and we can't ignore this area. Let's not wake her up, but I really want to know what 'hell puppies' mean…"

"Probably raiders, like Yui and Ruu mentioned, right?" Kurumi asked, and the rest nodded. And Kurumi groaned. "Figures… It's our quickest route to St. Isidore too. Look, there's almost no blockades on the map around there!"

"Regardless, if Ruu-chan thinks we should avoid it, we should!" Yuki spoke up. "There's probably gangsters and scary people there… I-I don't wanna get mixed up with them!" She said, pulling her hat down. "Megunee would be really upset if we associated with people like that…"

"Agreed. She's the one whose… well, lived in this world, while we were in the high school," Rii reasoned. "I want to trust my sister's judgment. So… we're in all agreement?"

"Yeah. Should we still leave now, like planned?" Kurumi asked.

"Yes, under the cover of night," Rii said.

"Our first all nighter… it's like we're already college students!" Yuki said with a giggle, once again bringing a smile to the group.

"I'm gonna… go get some fresh air before we go," Kurumi said, heading out of the RV. "Be back in ten, alright? I'll start the trip then," Kurumi said, before heading out.

"Hey, uh, Yuki-senpai… I have a question I need to ask Rii alone, OK? Can you… give us some space, please?"

"Alrighty!" Yuki said with a grin and a salute, making her way outside after grabbing a crowbar as well to give the two their space.

"… OK, now that she's gone, Rii-san…" Miki frowned, looking over at her. "Has your sister… you know, said anything about me…?"

"No…" Rii said, frowning. "Are you… are you 100% sure you never saw her before this? Not even for a little bit, like at the mall? Her group maybe met up with yours before going separate ways?"

"There weren't any little kids in our group, and we never met any other groups," Miki confirmed. "Your sister- she _hates_ me, Yuuri," it bothered her enough this child, a complete stranger to her recognized her name and actively disliked her for it while she had absolutely no idea she even existed until a few days ago.

"I wouldn't say… hate…" Rii tapped her foot, biting on a nail. "… Just an intense dislike of being around you."

"… Well, thanks, Rii."

"S-sorry…" She said with a sigh. "Just… I don't know what it could be. Ever since she heard your name, she just… I don't know why she's avoiding you like this. I tried asking her, but she won't tell me," Rii explained. Ever since the introductions Ruu made it clear she didn't like being around Yuki or Mikii (but Yuki more). If she was left alone with either of them, she'd immediately leave, and while Yuki was just a little upset by it ("I wanna be her senpai too! Teaching her all about being an adult!"), Miki was more disturbed and distressed by the fact.

"It is weird, and I don't have an answer, I'm sorry Miki," Rii said. "And I'm also sorry, but please understand I don't want to push it on her right now. I don't… know why she's like this or how she knew your name, and we _will _get to the bottom of it… but she can't even talk anymore. Please, let me approach this slowly."

"I understand," Miki said, smiling in an attempt to lighten the mood. "I'm gonna step out for a bit myself, OK?"

"Of course," Rii said, as she went to go inspect her sleeping sister, stroking her hair in her sleep.

And as Miki walked out, she looked at the map one last time. Ever since Ruu had supplied it, there was yet another thing bothering her…

_Mall Survivors._

_Mostly dead._

_Who are you, Ruu?_ Miki wondered, shaking her head as she headed outside as she decided she could also use some fresh air, and she walked over to Kurumi after grabbing a bat, her smile diminishing. "… Kurumi?"

"… Oh, didn't think you'd come here," Kurumi said. She was on her knees, her hands clasped together.

"Were you praying?"

"Heh, yeah. I haven't done it in a… really long time, not even when things got really dangerous, ya know? If He's not looking out for us at this point, no point in saying anything to Him," Kurumi said, sitting down now. "Just… felt a need to right now for some reason though. I feel kind of silly for doing it, to be honest…"

"Are you religious, Kurumi?" Miki asked, taking a seat next to her.

"Kind of… hard to say. Both my parents raised me Christian. I went to Church nearly every damn week for 16 years. God, I used to _hate_ it so much. It was fun when I was a little kid, 'cuz I was the only Christian in my class and I could show off stuff about it, and the Sunday teacher was nice. But by the time I was thirteen I just hated it. I remember thinking there's _nothing_ I wouldn't do to never do it again…" and she sighed. "… if it meant seeing my mom and dad again though, I'd go every week for the rest of my life without a complaint. How about you? You religious at all?"

"Not… too much, the same as most people, I guess," Miki said. "I'd pray at shrines and stuff, and traditions with the family and all, but I've never considered myself too religious. At this point though, I think I'd be willing to believe anything that explains how dead people get back up."

Kurumi chuckled. "Fair enough. I guess I believe still… sort of? I would've hoped 'dead people fucking eat you now,' would've fallen under the 'I won't flood the earth again,' promise," Kurumi said, stretching her arms. "It's weird. You think I would've like, become die-hard like they do in America, right? But it's just… barely been in my mind at all for almost a year."

"To each their own," Miki said. "Catholic, then?"

"Nope, protestant," Miki blinked at that. "My mom was half English. She was part of the Anglican Church, the _Sei no Kei._ My dad was always religious but didn't go to Church much until she insisted on it, so he converted from Catholic to Anglican," she said. "Not really something that happens much in this country, but hey, after that they got married."

"So… you're part British?"

Kurumi grinned. _"Don't I sound like it, govna?"_ She said in English and in the most forced Cockney accent she could muster. And it was enough to despite it all make Miki giggle, and Kurumi's grin widened.

"Its like I said before, you have a cute smile! Glad to see it again~"

"I-I do not!" Aww, now she was pouting.

"Yes, you do, it's why I took a picture of it," Kurumi said, taking her fingers and forcing a smile on Miki's face.

"Q-quit it, Kurumi-senpai!" Miki said, moving away her fingers with a laugh, as she was joined by Kurumi.

But…

…

"… It didn't work, then?"

"Hmmm?"

Miki frowned.

"… You're cold…"

"The hell kind of question is that? I'm here, aren't I? Of course, it worked," Kurumi said, getting up.

"Sorry…"

"… I do have a story about church, actually," Kurumi said. "It was the Sunday before this all started. I always kind of zone out during sermons, sometimes I'd pick up a bible and skim through it to see if I can find any interesting parts. But you know, I did kind of hear what the preacher was talking about. He was talking about the raising of Lazarus, when Jesus resurrected somebody who had died, good as new. I skimmed around a part; I forget the name of the book… but you know what? The text stuck with me. It still has. I looked it up online afterwards. And a few months ago, I found this Bible, I didn't keep it but I re-read that part again. It's from… uh… Zachariah, I think. Pretty sure it was in Zachariah."

"Oh?"

Kurumi paused. "… 'And the Lord will send a plague on all enemies of Jerusalem. Their people will become like walking corpses, their flesh rotting away. Their eyes will rot in their sockets, and their tongues will rot in their mouths. They will be terrified, and they will fight their neighbors by hand.'"

Miki went deathly quiet.

"… And you know what?" Kurumi pulled up her sleeve. "This vaccine? It was _made_ by somebody. Somebody studied this damn zombie virus enough to make a _vaccine_ for it. I don't think something made by God would be so easily turned back. So as far as I'm concerned, all of this? This is a _human_ problem. _We'll_ deal with it. God can sit tight in Heaven, as far as I'm concerned," she was talking more to herself at this point, coming to terms with her beliefs, and Miki let her. "Demons, ghosts, possession… those are problems for God to deal with. All this; this is a problem for us humans.

"I'm going to make my _own_ miracles. I don't care if there is God, a bunch of gods, guardian spirits, reincarnation, or absolutely nothing anymore. I don't… I don't want to do that again, what you just saw me doing," Kurumi said, looking down. "It makes me… think of her. I think it might have just been my way of trying to get close to her again."

"Kurumi-senpai…?"

"Megunee," Kurumi sighed. "She had this crucifix necklace, you see. And I thought it was just fashion at first, but whenever she got really upset or scared, she'd cling onto it like she was praying. I think she might've been Christian too, but I don't know. I guess I… I thought I'd have more time for questions like that later. So, praying like that…"

"Makes you feel a bit closer to her?"

"Yeah. I felt closer to her than God while I was praying, to be honest," Kurumi admitted with a sigh. "Man, the pastor would chew my ear off for saying that… We all miss her. Yuki took it hardest, but still…" She sighed. "… I miss her too, you know?"

"Then… why don't you keep praying so you can feel closer to her?" Miki asked. "We all grieve differently. You should do it if it helps you feel better."

Kurumi shook her head. "Maybe… but not for now. Assuming I even want to anymore, there'll be plenty of time for me to pray when everything is over…" and with that, her smile returned, in an attempt to comfort not only herself but her junior. "I hadn't thought about it like that, though… If it makes me feel closer to her, then maybe…" she said, and this earned a smile back from Miki. "For now, we make our own miracles and keep moving forward, got it?" She said, extending a hand.

"… Yeah," Miki said, smiling and taking the hand, getting back up, and ignoring how cold Kurumi's touch was. "To the bitter end, if need be."

"To the bitter end, if need be," Kurumi repeated. "Come on, let's go. We got a plan, after all. One that we came up with using our human brains. I want to see it through."

* * *

"Fuck." Kurumi swore.

"Kurumi-san! That's a really bad word!" Yuki's voice scolded.

"Dang," usually that would have made Kurumi at least smirk, but not today.

Kurumi sighed as Yui's RV was blocked by a new obstacle: an overturned truck and two crashed cars. Kurumi groaned and ignored the look Yuki gave her, standing up in her seat. "Miki, you think we can squeeze through?"

"No… this is a dead-end, yeah," Miki said. "At the least, we'll make too much noise forcing our way through them. We need another route."

"It'll be at _least_ another two hours with all these other routes," Kurumi complained. "Even with the spare gas, I don't want to waste it, or spend too much of the night driving. The point of this is to use the dark as a cover, I don't want to be driving this big thing in broad daylight. It feels like saying 'hey, come rob us and our really nice car!'"

"Well…" Miki sighed, looking at the map. "Right over there is, ah… the area Ruu mentioned…"

"We still don't know what 'hell puppies' mean," Rii said, scratching her chin. "She fell asleep right before then…"

"… Maybe we can cut through it?"

Everyone looked at Kurumi. "I mean! I'll drive slowly and everything. If there's trouble, I'll floor it and get us out of there and we'll go back to the other streets," Kurumi said.

"Should we wake up Ruu, maybe get her opinion?" Miki suggested.

"She's done a _lot_ for us, and she's just a kid; I think we should let her get her rest," Kurumi said.

"Little kids need to sleep!" Yuki agreed, and Rii then nodded.

"I don't want to disturb her… do _you _feel that strongly about it, Miki-san?" Rii asked, looking at her sleeping sister.

Miki tapped her foot. "I think… I think we can handle ourselves. It might be a good way to prove we can handle ourselves to her, maybe she'll divulge more to us if she does?" She gave it some more thought. "She probably just thinks we're inexperienced lockers who can't hold our own… This could be risky, though. Are we sure we should do this?" Miki asked.

"In a worst-case scenario, we just… bail. And we admit we bit off more than we can chew. We survived the helicopter; we'll survive _anything_ this town throws at us," Kurumi said. "So… let's do this. Unless everyone objects?"

Miki still seemed a bit unsure, but didn't speak up. Admittingly, the School Living Club were a bit fed up with the way they were being treated, first by Yui and now by Ruu; like they hadn't also survived the apocalypse and needed to be babied. This seemed like a good way to prove their worth; they had a large vehicle, and while not used to fighting human enemies Kurumi was confident enough in her abilities to hold her own.

And this would cut down on a few hours of driving and spare precious gas, it seemed logical enough.

And so Kurui put the RV into reverse, heading into a new direction, into the territory marked by Ruu as belonging to 'hell puppies.' And as they traversed, they found the scenery…

… Quite peaceful, and compared to the rest of the Megurigaoka ruins, actually quite peaceful.

"The way your sister wrote it, I was expecting… I don't know, living hell," Kurumi said to Rii, who nodded in return.

"Look, there's some abandoned tents over there… and more over there," Rii observed. "It's like… people lived here, but it was abandoned. The 'hell puppies' might not be here anymore…"

"Which means the rest of this drive is gonna be smooth sailing! Jackpot!" Kurumi said with a little laugh. "See, everyone? We're gonna be aaaaalright!" She said, looking out the driver's window. She saw an abandoned McDonalds and Best Buy by eachother, and not too much farther ahead a gas station. "Hey… that thing is probably out of gas, but… think maybe it's worth it? See if we can find anything useful?"

"Batteries and bags of food are good… but that's _very_ risk, Kurumi," Rii said. "For all we know these people could actually be sleeping inside…" she looked at the gas station parking lot and the abandoned cars around, and inside she saw no signs of movement; of course, in the dark, that wasn't reliable…

"… If you're going to go, let me go with you," Miki said, nodding towards Kurumi. "If we see anything move though, we bail. Got it?"

"Of course, of course. Rii, if there's an emergency, shine the flashlight through the window, OK? Yuki, keep an eye on Ruu," Kurumi asked, and Rii nodded while Yuki saluted. And with shovel, baseball bat, flashlights, and a few glowsticks in hand the two graduates headed into the gas station.

"It's really empty…" Miki said, approaching slowly, scanning with the flashlights. "T… there's some beef jerky over here. And Double A batteries!" She said, pocketing the flashlights immediately and picking up the meat. "T… there's a lot of good stuff here, Kurumi-senpai!"

"No kidding!" Kurumi said, picking up a bag of chips. "This is crazy! These hell puppies must have been in a huge hurry to get out of here, their loss!" She said, picking up some more batteries. "This is an awesome find… wait… shit, do you think this is a trap?" Kurumi asked, tightening her grip on her shovel once she pocketed it. "I want to explore this place a bit more…"

"I don't think so… Its so dusty, I don't think anyone's been in here a while. Whoever the hell puppies were, it must have been enough that people haven't been scavenging around ever since they left…" Miki said. "… I still don't want to be here too long though. Let's go back to the RV soon, alright? Just as much as we can grab then let's go."

"Yeah, yeah… I'm gonna check the back, alright?" Kurumi said, and Miki sighed and nodded.

Miki kept looking around for anything good to grab; more batteries in their original cases, some crackers, a large bottle of water, and another bag of beef jerky and she was ready to call it quits. "Kurumi-senpai, are you ready? … Kurumi-senpai?" She sighed, heading towards the back. "Kurumi, if this is a prank where you're going to scare me, I swear… Kurumi?"

Kurumi had opened the door to the back, and she stood deathly still, eyes wide as she stared outside. "K… Kurumi…?"

"We need to go, immediately," Kurumi whispered. "Keep your voice down. We're going the long way; _we need to go."_

"K-Kurumi, what is…"

Miki's eyes also widened in horror.

There were roughly four zombies roaming in the back, but their attention wasn't on them; they hadn't even noticed them yet. What had the two girls' attention was what was creeping up on them.

Dogs.

Miki could see four dogs; what looked like a rottweiler, a greyhound, a great dane, and a golden lab. But they were _sick. _They were snarling, crazed looks in their eyes. The greyhound and rottweiler seemed healthy enough, but the golden lab and great dane were missing chunks of their skin, they were _rotting._

_Hell puppies, _the two realized in unison. And Kurumi thought of Taromaru, that sweet little dog that had become infected…. And how even when sick, he was so small dealing with him was no problem. But these dogs…

It wasn't a question of _who _to fear, they realized far too late.

It was _what._

The hell puppies charged forward, knocking the zombies to the ground, ripping their throats out. And a moment later they were in the stomach of the walking corpses, ripping into their decayed entrails.

Then, the golden lab noticed them and barked, the other dogs' attention drawn to them, growling as they slowly approached. And before the girls could move, they broke into a sprint, earning a rare scream from Kurumi as she slammed the door shut.

"_RUN!" _She screamed, both girls dropping everything except their flashlights and weapons as the hell puppies banged against the door with their bodies.

Ruu rarely had dreams anymore.

Rather, she remembered; her dreams were more a series of flashbacks as opposed to her imagination running wild as they did once upon a time. And sure enough, her dreams as she tried to sleep that night were more of a mixmash of difference experiences these past 10 months, none allowing her to rest peacefully. And two conflicted memories were battling in her head; her sensei, and those of _**that **_woman.

"_Do it, Ruu. Do it. Take your __**revenge**__ now. You've earned the right."_

"_You don't have to be this way, Ruu."_

"_You've become so strong, Ruu. I'm proud of you."_

"_Its… its ok to cry. You can cry now. I won't judge you. Let it all out."_

"_In this world, you need to do what you have to do."_

"_We don't have to be violent like this. __**You**__ don't have to be violent like this!"_

She shifted uncomfortable in her sleep, as more memories of her old sensei began to overtake _**that **_woman in her memories.

"_What's wrong with enjoying it? Isn't it fun? Like killing a bad guy in a video game? Ruu…"_

"_Ruu…"_

"… _You should smile more. Even during this. Especially during this."_

In her dream, Ruu was grinning as she held the blood-stained knife, blood splattered all over herself.

"_What's wrong with enjoying it a little? It helps you cope, doesn't it? Facing all your problems with a smile…"_

"… _In this wonderfully cool and exciting world!"_

But then her frowned disappeared, as her sensei's smiling face was replaced with _**that **_woman's gentler smile.

"_It's OK to be human, Ruu. Even though we haven't known each other a long time, and you did those terrible things… I think you deserve to be a human, Ruu-chan. I love you as a human being."_

And she bolted up in her bed, once something in the real world was touching her, sweat pouring down her face and breathing hard.

"W-whoah! Take it easy, Ruu-chan!" If it was bad enough, she woke up like that, to see Takeya Yuki's face first thing as she did made it worse. "You were… moving a lot in your sleep and seemed uncomfortable. I thought you were having a nightmare, so I tried waking you up. A-are you OK, Ruu-chan?"

Ruu gave the girl a deadpan look, not wanting to communicate with her; maybe sitting on her big sister's lap would help her calm down… a… little.

Her eyes widened as she saw the McDonalds and Best Buy. Her face paled in horror as she slammed her hands on the window, before sprinting towards the front, to her sister.

"O-Oh! Ruu! You're up!" Rii was caught off guard as she patted her head, kneeling down. "Ruu-chan… s-sorry we didn't wake you up earlier, but our route from before was blocked off… we think these 'hell puppies' people have left. We keep seeing abandoned tents and stuff, so- "

She was caught off guard as her sister _slapped_ her, her face now showing both fear and anger. "… Ruu… Ruu?" Part of Rii wanted to be angry, and for a split second she was, of course; how could she NOT be? But… she saw the panic and rage in her sister's eyes, the fear slowly overcoming her anger towards her; and now she too was becoming afraid.

"… R-Rii-san… t… there's a stray doggy outside…" Yuki stammered from the RV window.

"… L… Like Taromaru…?" Rii asked, noticing the fear on Ruu's face now entirely fearful as opposed to angry.

"… Bigger… R-Rii… look out your window…!" Yuki's eyes were wide in fear, and when Rii looked outside, so was her's.

When she shined her flashlight out the window, and then another, she saw the RV was being surrounded by the dogs, some undead and some seemingly healthy; the hell puppies. As she ran from window to window, she thought there could not have been less than seven.

_Oh my God._

And almost in unison, about half the dogs began to howl into the night sky.

And all five girls could hear more howling in the distance.

* * *

_**To be continued.**_

* * *

So! This chapter was supposed to _begin_ the University Arc. The end of this chapter was going to be the girls having their confrontation with Ren at the entrance of St. Isidore. But instead of making this just one super major long chapter, I decided to split it into two.

I've had this idea in my head ever since reading about Taromaru in the manga (again, this story follows manga canon, not anime), and I felt sad GG never did anything with zombie dogs... so let's have it!

Have a good night and happy 2020, everyone! _**Good things can happen when you're still alive!**_


End file.
